Taming the Beast
by Mistress of Darkness
Summary: An AU fic about the Elric brothers as orphaned children... they finally find a family, but the problem is is Edward willing to let go of the past to embrace a new future? Other main characters are M. Ross, Maes and Gracia Hughes.
1. The One That Got Away

**Chapter One: The One That Got Away**

**-----**

Ed narrowed his eyes in concentration, watching as people came and went from the bakery. It was early evening still, but the approaching winter was making the days much shorter. Already it was getting quite dark.

"Brother?" asked Al from where he was sitting, leaning against the opposite wall of the alley. "I'm hungry."

"I know. Don't worry, just be ready, alright?" Ed replied. Al simply nodded, but the worry didn't leave his eyes. With a sigh, Ed climbed slowly to his feet. The bakery wasn't busy - it was time to make a move, if his aching stomach was any judge. He stuffed his cold hands into his pockets and huddled in his thin jacket as he crossed the street. A bell jingled noisily above him as he pushed open the door and stepped inside. Several pairs of eyes turned toward him curiously.

"Thank-you, come again," said the woman behind the till to the last customer, and very soon Ed was the only one left. He moved slowly, calmly filling the large brown paper bags they provided, with the bread he was going to 'buy.' The clerk watched him for a moment - simply because there wasn't much else to do - and then she busied herself with a bit of paperwork. The boy glanced discretely toward the door. He could see through the glass that the coast was clear on the outside.

He folded down the top of the bag, chanced one more glance at the distracted clerk, and then bolted. The sound of the jingling bell faded behind him as he found himself back out on the cold street. There was a shout behind him, but he turned into the alleyway. Al was waiting, and Ed quickly handed off the bag of food and kept running. Al slipped behind a dumpster and out of sight. The woman stopped at the alley entrance, and listened to the sound of Ed's retreating footsteps in the alley. With a sigh of defeat, she turned back to the bakery.

After a few minutes, Ed paused and listened carefully. She wasn't following anymore. He sighed and leaned back against the nearest wall. Suddenly he felt very weak. He clutched his chest, willing the sharp pain that had formed there to go away, and closed his eyes tightly.

"Brother?" his eyes snapped open at his brothers voice. "She went back," Al said.

"Then lets go before the police show up," replied Ed, moving swiftly from his place against the wall and on down the alley. The two boys faded into the darkness.

-----

Mustang heaved a frustrated sigh and put his head in his hand to try to ease the headache that was forming. "Did they get the information confirmed yet?" asked a familiar voice, and he looked up to see his old friend Maes Hughes walk into the office. He was dressed in casual wear - obviously off-duty. Hawkeye entered the room just behind him, moving over to her own desk to file some papers.

"Yes," replied Mustang. "And that's the third place he's ripped off this week."

"Well at least we know what area he's in now," said Hawkeye hopefully.

Hughes slumped down comfortably in one of the large soft chairs in front of Mustang's desk. "So what?" he asked, waving a hand dismissively. "The same kid you guys have been after for months slipped through your fingers again." His tone was bored. "Big surprise. Nobody's ever been able to get close to catching him. So why'd you call _me_ here all of a sudden, wanting me to take him?"

Mustang sighed. "Because I'm going to lay a trap for him, and I thought you'd be the best place to _take_ him once we _catch _him."

"You found out who he is?" asked Hughes in surprise, sitting up straight.

"Yeah..." Mustang glanced at a paper on his desk. "And it was confirmed by some lady at the bakery yesterday. Edward Elric, 12 years old."

"So what makes you so sure you're going to be able to catch him?" asked Hughes.

Mustang scowled. "He always gets away - smart and resourceful. But I _can't_ let this continue. We _need_ to get that kid off the streets. Which means," he said, "we'll need to take more drastic measures."

Hughes sighed. "So what you're saying is that you're going to send in a cavalry to do a one-man job."

"You've got a problem with that?" Mustang asked. "As I recall, _you_ wanted to bring him in too. But you gave up on the idea, because nobody could _catch_ him."

"Well, yeah, but... is it really necessary to go that far?"

"Hughes..." this time is was Hawkeye. "In all the months we've been after this kid, only one officer managed to lay a finger on him. And that officer ended up getting knocked uncontious." Hughes looked away.

"I know what you're thinking. But there are no other options left Hughes." Mustang sighed again. "I'm tired of this chase, and I'm sure he's tired of running. In the end it'll be for his own good. Otherwise he's just going to be plunked in jail, and we both know that's no place for a kid."

-----

"Brother? I'm hungry," Al said softly. He looked to Ed, who was crouched shivering against the wall. A violent cough erupted suddenly, shaking his small frame. "Brother?" Al cried out in concern. He put his arm around Ed.

"I'm... sorry," Ed muttered quietly after the cough had subsided. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. It's just a cough." Al frowned, noticing not for the first time that his brothers voice was getting quieter, softer. "I'll be back," said Ed, standing abruptly. "Wait here where it's warm." He smiled reassuringly. "I won't be too long."

-----

Ed frowned and glanced back nervously. Something was wrong. He could sense it; something about this place wasn't safe anymore. But it was starting to snow, and the air was so frigid around him that he could see his own breath. He _needed_ to get some food. The bread he'd stolen two days ago had run out the day before, and now the struggle for food began again. He returned his gaze to the convenience store on the corner. No... it was too high of a risk. Too many camera's and alarms in those sorts of places. He _knew_ that... but Al needed food. _He_ needed food. He took a cautious step forward, then another. Leaving the safety of the alleyways was always nerve-wracking, but there was something else that was making his heart pound. It was flowing throughout his entire body and stealing away his strength.

Ed felt suddenly dizzy, and having left the safety of the alley behind him, he instead leaned against the nearby wall of a shop. His limbs felt heavy - heavier than usual - and his head felt hot despite the bone-chilling cold. He shivered and closed his eyes, pulling his thin jacket tighter around himself in a useless attempt to clock out the cold wind. He stood still, waiting for the dizzy spell he was feeling to pass. The gently-falling snow bit at his bare face and ears, but he ignored it. He could deal with the cold later. For now, he needed to...

His eyes snapped open at the sound of a car moving slowly, and he looked up to see a police car. His heart skipped a beat and he tensed, ready to run, but it carried on by without changing its speed. Edward sighed in relief. It wasn't looking for him - but it _did_ eliminate the idea of robbing the store on the corner. He was hungry, yes, but not stupid. Pushing himself off the wall, hands still in pockets, he stumbled back into the alley.

-----

Mustang watched in the rearview mirror as the boy headed into the alley and then pulled over. "Alright," he spoke into the radio. "We have his location. Begin the operation - and remember; I don't want to hear a single siren or see any flashing lights until I give the okay." He put down the radio and opened up the map of the back alleys, smirking. Hawkeye studied it as well. "Good..." muttered Mustang. "Now we just have to drive him into our net."

-----

Edward walked down the alley, eyes downcast. He hated the idea of telling his brother they'd have to go hungry for a bit longer. A thin layer of snow had built up on the ground, and he watched it shift in the slight breeze through half-lidded, tired eyes. Suddenly he felt his throat tighten and once again a powerful cough overtook him.

He doubled over, gasping for air until it passed. He could taste the metallic flavor of blood, and once again a wave of dizziness washed over him. He stood still, leaning against a wall until his vision cleared, and then kept walking. "There he is!"

Edward jumped at the voice and whipped around to see two officers coming down the alley behind him. Instantly his survival instincts kicked into gear. He shot off down the alley, away from the men. Weaving right, then left, left again, toward an exit. He skidded to a halt at the flashing lights that sat waiting, and spun around again, off in another direction. More officers pursued.

Another exit from the maze of back-alleys - another set of flashing lights. Twice more he met the same dead end, and was forced to keep moving. _'Al..."_ he thought, and realization sunk in. They had him trapped! He needed to get out of the alleys and lead them away from his brother! But his breath was coming in ragged heaves, and the taste of blood was only getting stronger from the cold air rushing into his lungs and scraping his throat raw in the process.

Ed paused for a moment to listen for the men chasing him. In that moment of hesitation and officer stepped out from his hiding place and grabbed Ed's arms from behind. Ed jumped at the unexpected presence, crying out in surprise, and felt his arms being held tightly. He couldn't move! Wildly, stemmed by fear, he slammed his whole body backward, throwing the officer off balance and sending them both toppling painfully to the ground.

The rolled in the snow and the man's grip loosened a tiny bit. It was enough of a chance for Edward. He jammed his elbows back, catching the man in his chest and winding him. And then he was on his feet and gone again. The fallen officer pulled out his radio and climbed to his feet, brushing snow off his uniform.

"This is Falman," he said. "He just went down into sector four." He cringed and rubbed his chest. "And they weren't kidding; the kid packs a wallup."

-----

Al was dozing against the back of the dumpster they'd been using as a hiding place. It was a small space, about a two-foot gap between the dumpster and the wall, but the snow didn't fall there and a vent from the building sent warm air out. It was a good place for Edward, Al knew, since his brother always seemed to be cold. He was much thinner than Al was, simply because whatever food he took in was used up right away in shivering to keep warm. It was something they had grown accustomed to, though; Al was always hungry, and Ed was always cold. _'And probably hungrier than I am,'_ he thought miserably, rubbing his hands together and breathing on them. And speaking of Ed, where WAS he?

The sound of a distant siren caught his attention and he froze, listening. No, there was more than one of them. "Brother!" he said worriedly, emerging from their hiding place and running down the alley to a juncture. He looked both ways, not sure of what to do. Was Ed in trouble? If so, then...

Al gasped as a strong hand fell upon his shoulder. He jumped back, only to collide with the person's body. Ed spun around, his heart racing, and found himself looking up at the face of a tall, dark-haired officer. He yelped and tried to jump away, but another strong pair of hands fell on his shoulders.

"Relax, kid," said the Raven-haired man calmly. Al looked up to the face of the other officer - a brown-haired man with a cigarette in the side of his mouth.

"Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you." Al shivered in the cold air he was exposed to. Why had he come out? He should have stated hidden! Another siren joined the others, this one a bit closer, and Al turned around, trying to look down the alley again. Surely any second now, Ed would show up and save him... any second now...

Since Al refused to walk, he was promptly lifted and carried. After a short and un-effective struggle, which involved a bit of shouting on his part, he found himself in the back of a police cruiser.

The Raven haired man sat down in the front seat, leaving the door open. "Who are you looking for?" he asked.

"N-no one!" Al lied. Mustang just sighed.

"You're brother's giving us quite the chase," he said, deciding to give up the pretenses. "As I would expect from the one who always gets away. But this time..." his eyes narrowed as he looked down the alley. "He's got nowhere to go."

-----

Hughes pulled up and parked his black car behind the four police cruisers already there. As he stepped out into the snow he saw Mustang climb out of one of the cars and shut the door. "Did you catch him?" asked Hughes in surprise, noticing the blonde hair of a young boy in the back-seat of the car he'd just emerged from.

"Not yet," replied Mustang. "But we got the little brother, as planned. It looks like we lucked out. They weren't together."

"So you still have to catch the older one?" asked Hughes.

Mustang looked to the alley entrance and Hughes followed his gaze. At least 8 officers stood at the ready. "He can't get away now," said Mustang. "The kid is fast and resourceful, but it's already been half-an-hour, and even HE can't run forever. Once my men drive him into this area he'll be trapped."

-----

Edward was out of ideas. Every exit was blocked. He had a painful stitch in his side and his legs felt like they were moving numbly. With the officers pursuing him, he had no choice but to keep moving forward. He clutched at his chest, unable to draw enough air into his lungs. He paused for a moment, leaning against the wall, but the sound of shouts and running feet drove him on. He felt like a sheep being herded, and he didn't like it. But like the sheep-dogs, these men had teeth, and he had no choice but to keep running.

As he came to a junction in the alleys, he saw flashing lights to his right. He took a sharp left, and the appearance of an officer in front of him left him no choice but to take the next right again. _'No!'_ he thought desperately, realizing that the only place left for him to go would be the alley where their hiding place was.

He had no choice though... it was the only place left to go. At the end of the alley, police cars were waiting. He slid to a stop and whirled around in a desperate attempt to go back the way he'd come. He slid to a stop again and stumbled backwards. There were at least six officers blocking his retreat, and more if the others who had been chasing him showed up.

He was surrounded and trapped. Through the officers he could see Al pounding desperately on the windows of one of the police cars. So he had been caught.

"Edward Elric," a voice rang out clearly. "You have the option of coming with us peacefully. If you continue to resist, we'll have no choice but to take you in forcibly."

Edward smirked as the men circled around him on three sides. He stepped back and felt the cold stone of the wall. His breath came in ragged heaves. His body and strength was spent, but the fire remained in his eyes. He couldn't escape. He _knew_ there was no way out... but if he was going down, he would at least make sure they remembered it.

With a sudden cry, he flew at one of the nearest officers, sending him sprawling. In the chaotic struggle that followed, Edward kicked, punched, bit and scratched until finally he hit the ground. The side of his forehead scraped against the cement only a few centimeters beneath the snow, drawing blood. He tried to roll, but it was too late. He was pinned there. And officer sat on his back with both his knees on Ed's elbows, his hands pinning his wrists. However much he jerked or thrashed, he could not free himself.

The men spoke amongst themselves, and Ed listened without really registering. "Someone cuff his ankles until we get him outta here." He felt hands on his ankles and then the weight of the metal rings. He shivered as the cold metal snaked its way around one wrist with a few clicks, and finally the pressure was removed from his elbows so that they could bring his hands together and do the same to the other. Someone commented on the fact that he had an automail arm, but he didn't care. He closed his eyes, chest still heaving as he struggled to breathe with the added weight of a person. Eventually that weight, too, was lifted.

Hughes watched the scene play out from a distance. As the boy's eyes closed, and his desperate struggle ended, he felt his heart go out to the child. This was it then... the hunt for Edward Elric had ended. He glanced around and shook his head in awe. It had taken over 25 officers and an extremely complicated trap to bring down a 12-year-old.

-----

-END-

Authors Note:

Phew... thank goodness that's typed out. This is probably the first story where I wrote the entire thing on paper, so the longest part is actually typing it out on the computer to be uploaded... I hope that people like this... R&R regardless, I'd like to know what you think.


	2. In A Cage

**Chapter Two: In A Cage**

**-----**

Al had watched helplessly as his brother had fought. "Brother! Please stop!" he had cried, but he knew his brother couldn't hear him. And even if he could, he doubted Ed would have listened. That was just the way he was - fight right to the end. He was a survivor. But when they finally brought Edward down, Al felt his own fighting spirit crumple. They spent almost 10 minutes keeping Ed pinned against the alley floor in the snow before someone finally picked him up and carried him to the car. By which time he was soaked from sweat and melted snow, and shivering violently. So violently, in fact, that an officer got out the blanket from her survival kit and wrapped it around the boy before he was put in the police car next to Al.

"Brother!" Al cried, putting his arms around Edward's neck. He was still breathing heavily, which Al found disconcerting. Suddenly a cough overcame the older of the two, and he leaned forward, doubling over and resting his forehead against the plastic divider in front of him. That fight had completely drained him of what little precious energy he had left. Al was still crying, but silently, and Ed offered him a small smile to reassure him that he was okay.

Two officers got in the front seats - a blonde woman in the drivers seat and the raven-haired man Al had seen earlier. Neither of them said anything, but the man glanced at Ed over his shoulder, and the woman glanced in the rearview mirror as she started the engine. Edward sighed quietly and fell back against the seat. It was over... for now.

Al sat quietly, stealing glances at his brother, who still had blood on his face from the scrape above his eye. Ed's gaze was fixed on the window, watching through half-lidded eyes as the scenery passed slowly by. He might have appeared to be half-asleep, but Al knew better. He would be taking in the streets, the turns, the landmarks. Memorizing the route in case they needed to escape by the same way. Al sighed and leaned into his older brother, wiping away his tears. He needed to toughen up a bit... after all, they were alive, weren't they?

By the time the car stopped, Edward's shivering had almost entirely stopped as well, probably due to the fact that the female officer had turned the rear heater on full. "I'll meet you guys inside," said the black-haired man. "I want to talk to Hughes for a minute, so bring them to my office." He opened the door and stepped out. He was about to close it behind himself when he paused. "And take the cuffs off his ankles so the kid can walk," he added as an afterthought. The door closed, and Al and Ed both watched him disappear into the large brick building that was the police station. After killing the engine, the woman got out as well. She conversed for a moment with a few officers before someone finally opened the back door.

-----

Hughes parked his car in a guest spot and stepped out. He caught sight of Hawkeye standing outside her cruiser talking to a couple of officers and made his way over to her. "Ah Hughes," she said when she saw him. "Mustang's waiting for you in his office. He said he wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"Alright," replied the man with a sigh. As he made his way up the stairs and into the building he heard the laughter and excited mutterings of the officers. They were all pumped over having finally caught the illusive kid, it seemed.

"Well?" he jumped as Mustang's voice cut into his thoughts. "I told you I'd get him," he said smugly. Maes just laughed and closed the office door behind them.

"So you did," he replied. "And now you want me to take him off your hands, right?"

Mustang nodded. "They'll need some medical attention, as well."

"Yeah... and what about the younger one. You barely mentioned anything, except at the last minute." He lowered his voice to mimic Mustang in a mocking tone, "by the way, I think that his younger brother is with him as well." Maes leaned against the wall. "I don't like the idea of splitting them up, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle the older brother. After what I saw today..."

"I'm sure he'll settle down," replied Mustang, crossing his arms and sitting on his desk. There was a look of concern on his face. "Although... I've had several people suggest sending him to a Juvenile hall instead of bothering with a placement..."

"We can't send him to a place like this. The kid is 12," said Hughes sharply.

"I know," Mustang agreed, putting his hands up defensively. "And besides; I didn't pull him off the streets just to lock him away. I want to help him." Hughes sighed. "That's why I asked you to handle it instead of someone else. You're the only one I can count on actually _helping_ him and not sending him off to take the easiest way out."

"Alright. I'll take them both for now," said hughes. "We'll see how things go." Soon there was a knock on the door that put a halt to their conversation.

"Enter," Mustang called, and the door creaked open to reveal Hawkeye. Behind her stood the two boys, as well as an officer 'guiding' a very exhausted (and moody) looking Edward. "Welcome," said Mustang, moving behind the desk. "Please, boys, have a seat," he added, motioning to the chairs in front of the desk.

Al stepped forward willingly, but Edward stood rooted stubbornly to the spot until the officer Havok pushed him forward gently, keeping a gently hand on each shoulder. He ended up having to push the 12-year-old the rest of the way into the room and to the chair. Although he wasn't resisting them, he certainly wasn't being very agreeable.

With his hands still bound, Ed couldn't really do much in the way of retaliating anyways. Nor did he have the energy to. He flumped down into the chair next to his brother once he'd been pushed over to it, and then stared at the floor.

"Thanks for your help Havok," said Mustang. "You may go." With a nod, the officer left, closing the door behind himself. Only the two men and the female officer remained. Al glanced around warily. She stood by the door behind them.

"My name is Roy Mustang," said the black-haired man politely, bringing his attention once more to the man in front of them. "This is officer Hawkeye," he motioned to the woman, "and Maes Hughes. Hughes will be responsible for your care until more permanent arrangements can be made." For the first time Edward lifted his gaze and looked over to the man called Hughes. He had a friendly face. They all did at first.

Hughes felt slightly uncomfortable under the untrusting, cat-like gaze of the older brother, but he masked it well. His calm, easy-going nature made this quite easy for him.

"I'm Alphonse," said the younger boy quietly. He stole a glance at his brother. "Alphonse Elric. And this is Edward." Edward shifted uncomfortably at the sound of his name, but remained silent.

"I see. Well it's nice to meet you both," said Hughes with a warm smile, and Al couldn't help but smile back. "And how old are you, Alphonse?"

"I'm eleven," replied Al.

"I see. And Edward is... 12 then, right?" The question was directed toward Edward, but after a short silence, Al answered for him.

"Yes sir."

"Well," said Hughes suddenly. "It's getting pretty late, and I'm sure you two are tired."

Mustang stood and walked around the desk to stand before Edward. The 12-year-old lifted his gaze slowly from the floor, climbing up the tall man's body and eventually coming to rest on his face. They studied each other for a moment until finally Mustang sighed and leaned down to remove the hand-cuffs. He could see it in his eyes; Ed was done fighting for now.

He stepped back and Ed rubbed his left wrist, returning his gaze to the floor. "I'll be in touch," said Mustang. It was clear that this meeting was over.

-----

Edward climbed willingly into the car, and Alphonse climbed in after him. Hughes kept a light conversation going with Al, but despite his best efforts, Ed just couldn't keep his eyes open. His chest hurt, he was shivering again (no thanks to his clothes still being damp), and his vision was starting to get a big hazy. Eventually he gave in to the exhaustion and closed his eyes.

"Hey," said Hughes a while later. "We're here." He killed the engine, and at the lack of sound and motion of the vehicle, Edward opened his eyes wearily. The door was pulled open, and he climbed out after all, back into the cold air. He looked up at the enormous house as they stepped up to and through the door. "I'm home!" Hughes called, pulling the wooden door closed once both boys had stepped inside.

"Oh, Maes," said a pretty brunette woman, stepping into the entrance as she dried her hands on her apron. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon." She smiled warmly at the two boys.

"This is my wife, Glacia," Hughes introduced the woman. "Glacia, meet Alphonse and Edward Elric."

"It's a pleasure to meet you boys. Welcome," she replied warmly. She extended her hand, which Al shook politely. Ed took a step back pointedly, and though she smiled at him, she too his hint and didn't reach toward him.

"Well," said Hughes, kicking off his shoes. The boys did the same, Al gawking at the interior of the house the whole time. It was enormous!

"Maes," another female voice entered the room, and all eyes turned to the woman, whose face was partially hidden by the pile of folders she was carrying. From what they COULD see, however, she had short black hair and kind eyes. "I finished filing all of your appointments and records, and - oh!" She stopped when she caught sight of the two boys, and smiled warmly at them. "Hello there."

"This is Alphonse and Edward," Hughes introduced them. "And this," he added, motioning toward the woman, "is Maria Ross."

"Your lackey?" The words escaped Ed's lips before Al could stop them.

"Brother!" he said scoldingly.

"Hardly," replied Maria with a laugh, obviously unfazed by his comment. "If anything, I keep him organized. I also stay in the house, so if you guys need anything, feel free to ask me."

"Alright," said Glacia. "I'm sure you boys must be hungry, but lets get you cleaned up and into some dry clothes first, shall we?"

"I'll show them up," said Maria. She headed toward the stairs. "Your room is this way." Al followed, and with a sigh, Ed did the same, sticking close to his younger brother. He might have been weak and exhausted, not to mention injured, but Ed was still on his guard.

"What happened to Edward?" asked Glacia once they were out of earshot. She was referring to the blood and wet clothes.

"Well..." said Maes, smiling guiltily. "He and the officers had a little, shall we say, 'disagreement?'" Glacia lifted an eyebrow. "They went through quite the ordeal, trying to bring him in, and he did NOT come easily. I'll tell you about it later."

-----

Maria showed the boys to a large bedroom with an attached bathroom. "We don't really have many clothes your size," she said, "but these pajamas should be alright." She motioned to a pair of neatly folded clothes lying on each of the beds. "The showers pretty streight-foreward to work. You just pull the dial out once it's at the right temperature."

Al went over to the farther of the two beds and sat down, bouncing slightly. A smile spread across his face and the soft mattress and the smooth fabric of the blankets. "I'm going to bed," said Edward quietly, his eyes glued stubbornly to the floor. She could tell from his face and eyes that he had had a very long day, and was tired and moody.

"Take a shower first and change," said Maria, but Edward ignored her and moved toward the unoccupied bed. She frowned thoughtfully.

"Brother..." said Al. He stood up and gently turned Ed toward the bathroom.

"Alright!" Ed growled moodily, casting a glare first at Al, and then at Maria. "But then I'm GOING to BED." He grabbed the pajamas from where they were folded at the foot of his bed and stumbled over to the bathroom. Maria smiled and looked to Al.

"Do you want me to show you to another bathroom, or would you rather shower once he's done?" she asked kindly.

"It's okay," replied Alphonse. "I can wait."

"Alright. When you're done, just come on downstairs. Glacia has some hot soup on the stove." Al's eyes lit up at the mention of a meal. Maria closed the bedroom door behind herself, and paused in the hall, thinking. Both boys looked much more worn-down than she had expected. And Ed was pale and seemed to be slightly dizzy, too.

-----

Ed shivered as he peeled away his damp shirt and pants and glanced at himself in the mirrors. He was filthy, and although his hair was pulled back in a short braid, it was dry and dirty as well. He sighed when he saw how the metal limbs contrasted with his pale skin. They were heavy and cold when he was this week, and where they touched his skin was very sensitive and sometimes it ached. He touched his left hand to the metal arm. Yes... it was very cold.

"Brother?" Al's voice came through the door. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he said sharply, pulling off the remainder of his clothes and turning on the shower. Al worried too much, and Ed hated to be worried over more than anything. ESPECIALLY by his little brother, who looked to him to strength.

As Ed stepped into the hot water he felt shivers run throughout his body, but for once they weren't from the cold. It had been so long since he'd felt hot water against his skin, and he relished it. He stood for a few minutes, letting the hot water heat up the cold metal of his arm and leg. In turn, he felt the rest of his body starting to warm. It tingled - like the feeling in your foot after its been asleep - simply because he was so used to being cold.

After a few minutes he actually picked up the soap and began to scrub the dirt from his skin, careful to avoid a large raw scrape on his left wrist. He hadn't really noticed it before. There were so many aches and pains, how could he keep track of where they came from? But at any rate, once he saw it he could feel it worse. It was fresh, even though it wasn't bleeding, and he knew he must have gotten in from the concrete in his struggle earlier.

When he finally turned off the water, it had been almost ten minutes. He also found, as he dried himself off and began to dress in the clothes he'd been given, that it the steamed bathroom he could breathe much easier than he had been able to before. He noticed his reflection in the mirror and hesitated. Clad only in the pajama bottoms, he stared at his upper body. There were scars, and some fresher scrapes and bruises from earlier, but what really caught his attention (apart from his very visible ribcage) was where the metal of his arm connected to his skin. It was very red and sore, and...

"Brother?" he jumped as the door opened slightly and Al poked his head in. Edward sighed. Kicking his dirty clothes into a corner, he grabbed the pajama shirt and stepped past him. The rush of cold air sent him immediately into a fit of coughs, and he doubled over again. "Brother!" Al cried, holding his brothers shoulders.

"I'm sorry," said Ed weakly once they had subsided, offering Al a weak smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"But you're sick," Al protested. "And I don't think you've ever been this sick before..." he trailed off at the look that crossed his brothers eyes. Ed smiled weakly.

"Have a shower and then go and eat," he said, stumbling over to the bed. "I'll be fine." Al wanted to argue, but the finality in his brother eyes and voice stopped him. He sighed in defeat and turned back to the bathroom. That's how it always was with them; when Ed decided on something, he would do it no questions asked - and Al would follow. Because Ed was stronger, braver, wiser. If not for him, Al knew he wouldn't have survived long. But as Al took another glance toward his older brother, who had collapsed onto the bed, he realized that he might need to step forward for a while. With Ed sick, and getting weaker, Al would have to be the one for Ed to lean on for a while.

---

END

---

Author's Note: Okay... that took me forever to type out. I've already got the first 8 chapters written out on paper, and typing out something I've already written is just so... tedious. But I'll try to get the rest of the chapters up quickly. Maybe if I move my laptop it'll help... this position is killing my back, but it's the only place in my room that I have wireless internet, so I'm stuck here. Hehe, please review with any comments you've got. Thanks for reading!

Mistress of Darkness


	3. Calmed Rage

**Chapter Three: Calmed Rage**

**-----**

Glacia set the table, humming a little tune as she did so. Maes was sitting at his spot, a folder in front of him and a frown on his face. He had his head resting in one hand, was was flipping through the pages of the file with the other. After a few minutes he groaned in annoyance.

"What's the matter?" asked Maria from the stove where she was stirring a large pot of soup.

"Oh, these files they gave me are all mixed up," he said, heaving a frustrated sigh. "All that I can gather is that they've been to around 10 foster homes in the past three and a half years. They were removed from several do to domestic violence, and most were just temporary placements for a few months at a time. The last one they ran away from, and they've been on the run since then. Almost seven months now."

"That seems pretty straightforward to me," said Glacia pointedly.

"That's the only part that IS straightforward. There's no details on their background, no medical history on the boys themselves, and nothing mentioning the older of the two having an automail arm. It's got their names, ages, and a list of where they've been, and that's it." Maes sighed again.

"Well doctor Rockbell is making a house call tomorrow morning, right?" replied Glacia. "They'll get a full check-up, and hopefully the boys themselves will be able to tell us a few things. For tonight, lets just let them rest."

"Yeah..." he replied, stretching. "Guess you're right." He cleared away his papers so that Glacia could finish setting the table, and hardly had he returned them to his briefcase, when the sound of a bedroom door closing upstairs reached their ears. A few minutes later Al peered nervously into the kitchen.

"Come sit, Alphonse," said Glacia warmly. Al smiled and climbed up into the offered chair.

"The soup is hot," said Maria with a smile as she ladled some into his bowl. "So be careful, okay?" Al stole one last glance warily towards the stairs. He didn't like the idea of being being so far from his brother with so many strangers about... especially when he couldn't _see_ him. But the aroma of the soup quickly captured his attention.

After having consumed two bowls of the soup, a piece of bread and butter, and two glasses of milk, Maria said gently "you'd better not eat any more tonight, or you'll end up getting sick."

Al grinned and sat back in his chair. "Alright," he said. His smile faded suddenly and he glanced back toward the stairs. He felt suddenly guilty for having eaten while Edward had gone hungry _again_. The adults caught his worried expression.

"Do you want to help me bring some soup up to your brother?" Maria asked.

"Sure!" Al's face lit up. He pushed his chair back and Maria stood up to prepare a tray for Edward. "Thank you for the meal!" Al added politely.

"No problem," said Glacia. She stood as well and began to clear the table. As soon as Maria had finished filling a bowl with soup, she followed Al up the stairs, letting him carry a glass of water for his brother (Al had said that Ed would prefer water over milk). Al pushed the door open to their shared bedroom and headed in. The light was still on, but Ed appeared to be asleep.

"Brother," Al was saying quietly, and Ed was curled in a fetal position on the bed. The sound of his raspy breathing worried her as Maria set the tray down on the night-table - not to mention the fact that he was shivering even though the house was certainly not cold. "Brother, we brought you some soup."

Ed sighed and cracked open his eyes. They were calm looking at Al, but when he shifted his gaze toward Maria his eyes hardened immediately with distrust and bitterness. With a sigh he pushed himself into a sitting position and let his legs dangle off the side of the bed. With Ed staring at her through narrowed eyes, Maria couldn't help but feel like a mouse looking into the eyes of a lion. His gaze was finally broken when he doubled over in a fit of coughs.

She instinctively reached over to rub his back, but at the sudden motion he jerked back before she could touch him. Maria retracted her hand and waited for his coughs to subside on their own. She smiled when they finally did. "Eat what you can, okay?" she asked. Ed simply nodded.

"Thankyou," said Al with a smile - a hint of an apology in it for her.

"It's no problem," replied Maria. She turned from the room and closed the door behind herself, but not without the icy feel of Ed's eyes on her the entire way out. With a sigh, she headed back down the stairs.

"How is he?" asked Maes as soon as she walked into the kitchen.

"Not very good," she replied, her face creased in worry. "I think maybe we should see if the doctor can come tonight instead of tomorrow."

"He looks that bad, huh?" he asked with a tired sigh. Maria nodded.

"Well it's only 8:30," said Glacia. "I'll give him a call and see if he's free."

"Hm..." Maes sighed again.

"What's wrong?" both women asked in unison.

"Hm?" he replied, startled out of his own thoughts. "Oh, nothing!" He waved his hands for emphasis. "I was just thinking... well, I'm just worried that Edward might not like doctors. But I guess we'll find out soon enough, won't we..."

-----

Edward felt sicker than he had before. Almost as if now that he was here where he could actually "relax," his body was finally shutting down and refusing to function properly. And he hated _that_ because it meant he would have no choice but to rely on these people for a while.

"Look at this, brother," Al said from the far closet where he was pulling a small rectangular box off of a shelf. Ed looked up from his almost-empty bowl of soup and watched as Al spread out the contents on the floor between their two beds - a large puzzle. He put down his spoon and watched in mild interest as Al started to fit the pieces together.

"How'd you know that was there?" Ed asked curiously.

"Glacia said that we can use the toys and stuff from the closet. There's a whole bunch of them, see?" Al motioned to the closet door, which he'd left open. Sure enough Ed could see that the shelves inside were full of toys and puzzles, all neatly put away.

"Hm..." he replied, setting the bowl back down on the night-table. "Just don't make a mess, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't." Ed sighed and fell back on the bed, staring at the roof. He shivered, despite the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. And his shoulder ached where the metal connected to his skin. He rubbed half-heartedly at it for a minute before he gave up and lay one arm across his eyes to block out the light. His body ached in far too many places to bother easing the pain.

At the sound of a doorbell ringing, Al looked up from the puzzle and Ed groaned softly. "Where are you going?" he asked when he heard his brother walk over to the door and pull it open.

"Just to see who's here," replied Al. He stepped into the hall and was gone before Ed could remind him it was none of their business.

-----

"I'm glad you could come, Dr. rockbell," said Maes as the middle-aged, blonde-haired doctor stepped into the house. "And I'm really sorry about the late-night call."

"Oh, it's no trouble," replied the doctor, stepping up into the entry and allowing Glacia to take his coat. In one hand he held his large black bag, and with the other he shook hands with Maes in a friendly greeting. "So I understand that you've got two boys for me to take a look at?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, here comes the first one now," replied Maes, looking up to Al as he came to the top of the stairs and peered down warily. "Don't worry, Alphonse; come on down," he said cheerfully. Al glanced back toward the room where Ed was, and then slowly came down the stairs.

"This is my friend, Doctor Rockbell," said Maes. "He's going to give you a little check-up, okay?"

"Um..." Al took a step back, his eyes betraying his nervousness.

The doctor smiled warmly and offered the boy his hand to shake. "Don't worry," he said gently. "It won't hurt at all." Al shook the hand, studying the doctor's face. The man winked and smiled. "I'll tell you what; if you let me give you a check-up, I'll give you a little treat."

"A treat?" asked Al, intrigued. He was distracted from his nervousness by the offer. "What is it?"

"It'll be a surprise," replied the doctor. "So what do you say?" Al gave him a small smile and nodded his agreement.

"Great. Why don't you guys use the usual room down the hall then," suggested Maes.

"Alright. So how old are you, Alphonse..?" Their voices drifted off down the hall. Maria followed them and Glacia turned back to the kitchen. Hughes was about to follow her when he glanced up the stairs. His eyes met the cat-like gaze of Edward for a few seconds before the boy turned and disappeared back down the hall to their room as silently as he had come. Hughes shook his head sadly. At least Ed knew what was coming now... but he highly doubted that a treat would be enough to bribe the older boy into anything he didn't want.

-----

Al liked the doctor right away. He was older than the Hughes were, but still had a youthful spark in his eyes, and a kind face. And he asked easy questions too, like what king of animals Al liked and what his favorite color was. Al had to take off his shirt and sit on the counter, but the doctor kept him distracted with stories of his own daughter, who apparently was about the same age. Al, having no real recollection of having a check-up before (at least not recently), asked a lot of questions. By the time they were finished the examination the doctor had named and explained almost every tool in his bag. Dr. Rockbell even let Al listen to his own heartbeat through the stethoscope.

When they were finished the doctor presented him with the promised treat; a large lollipop. Al was ecstatic over it, and the doctor hoped that he wouldn't get too much of a sugar-high right before bed for the Hughes.

"So what's the verdict?" asked Maes as the two emerged.

"Well, it's not as bad as I though it might be," replied the doctor. "Malnutrition, but a mild case, and a bit of light frostbite on his toes." The doctor smiled. "It's nothing a little TLC won't cure. I would just recommend not letting him eat too much at once for the first little while. Break down meals into smaller and more frequent quantities until his stomach adjusts. He's pretty thin, so too much at once might just make him sick."

"Alright," said Glacia, smiling at Al. "That's easy enough, isn't it?" He grinned back at her.

"Now what about the other boy?" asked Dr. Rockbell.

"He's upstairs. It's probably easier to just check him up there," replied Maes. The two men headed up the stairs after a grinning Al. Maria watched Glacia head into the living room and then headed up the stairs after them, to be ready to help if the need arose.

-----

Edward hated doctors. It wasn't anything about them in particular that he disliked - apart from the fact that they poked and prodded and sometimes gave needles - he'd hated them for as long as he could remember. It was a deeply-rooted fear. He seemed to have many of those, and some of them he passed on to his brother. But there were some things that he feared that Al could never understand why (and neither could Ed, really). For instance he hated loud noises, raised voices, or the sound off breaking glass - he didn't like bright lights, especially ones that flashed, and he didn't like doctors, officers, or anyone else in uniforms. He just _didn't_.

But he knew what was coming, and so he braced himself for the inevitable visit. The sound of his brothers laughter drifted up from the floor below, and eventually there were footsteps on the stairs. "Brother?" the door creaked open and Al bounced over to him. Ed was sitting cross-legged on his bed, shivering as usual but too stubborn to pull the covers up around himself. "Look what I got?" Al said excitedly, waving a large red lollipop in front of Ed's face. "And you get one too if you're good for the doctor!"

"Joy..." replied Edward under his breath. Behind Al, Maes and Doctor Rockbell stepped into the room as well.

"Hello Edward," said the doctor, a warm and relaxed smile on his face.

"I know that you're tired," said Maes apologetically, "but Doctor Rockbell here is just going to take a look at you, alright?" Ed didn't reply. He fixed his gaze on the doctor, who was unfazed by it, and only looked away when Al pulled on his left arm to get his attention.

"You'll let him, right?" Al asked, a pleading look in his eyes. "He really IS nice." After a short minute of silence, Ed slowly nodded his head.

"That's great," said Maes, rubbing his hands together. "Well why don't I wait outside, and if you need anything you can just call for me," he said. The doctor nodded, and after the door closed he turned back to Edward. Ed shivered beneath the gaze, even though there was nothing cold about it.

"Alright," said the doctor, moving further into the room. He set his bag down on the floor next to Al's partially-started puzzle. "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt for me, okay? Just so that I can take a quick look at your upper body." He dug around in his bag until he found his stethoscope, and when he looked up, Ed hadn't moved an inch.

The doctor seemed to know how to play the game though, because he just stood and waited patiently until finally, with a sigh, Ed pulled his shirt up and over his head. The doctors eyes widened slightly at the sight of Ed's automail arm, and the 12-year-old didn't fail to notice. He lifted his left hand and put it on his right shoulder protectively, a hot glare in his eyes. But Dr. Rockbell was quick to recover from his surprise, and he moved toward the bed calmly.

"Let's take a look here," he said softly, lifting the stethoscope towards Ed's exposed chest. Ed stiffened and leaned back and away from it, his untrusting eyes locked on the instrument. Dr. Rockbell paused with it mid-air and waited, earning a quiet noise of approval from Al. He really _did_ know how to play the game well. One of the ways Ed tested people, to see if they were really trustworthy or not, was to see if they forced themselves on him. The doctor had just passed the test twice by waiting for Ed to make up his mind instead of being forceful.

He waited until Ed had visibly relaxed, and when it was clear the 12-year-old had accepted it, he pressed the cold metal gently against his chest. As he pretended to listen to the heartbeat, the doctor instead scanned over Ed's upper body, taking in the few odd scars and the fresh scrapes that were obviously from a very recent struggle. Not to mention his very visible ribs and constant shivering. Then he refocused on the task at hand, timing the pulse on his watch. It was a bit faster than what would be normal, but he assumed that part of the reason for the increased heart rate was the obvious discomfort caused by his own close proximity. The sound of breaking glass from the kitchen downstairs set Ed's heart pounding very rapidly for a moment, and the doctor frowned. He was obviously very easily agitated, and very nervous.

As he moved the stethoscope around along Ed's chest, listening to his breathing, he kept talking calmly, trying to keep the boy at ease. Ed wasn't listening - not really - but the doctor had a deep and gently voice, and it was soothing. He caught the name Winry, and something about his daughter, but for the most part he just tuned him out. Dr. Rockbell moved the tool around to Ed's back for a moment. "Well you _are_ a bit sick," he said matter-of-factly. "Can you take a deep breath for me?"

Ed tried to do as told, but breathing deeply only sent him into a fit of coughs. The doctor stepped back a bit to give him some room until the coughing subsided. Ed was trembling worse than before, his small frame struggling to pull enough air into his lungs. Al had climbed up to the bed to sit next to him and was rubbing his back for him silently with worried eyes.

"Well let's not do _that_ again," said the doctor with an apologetic smile. He moved to stand directly in front of him and lifted his chin a bit, using both hands to gently feel along Ed's upper neck for swollen glands. He continued to talk softly as he shone a light in his eyes and mouth, looked in his ears, and finally put away the light and took out another instrument. Ed didn't like the look of the little tool one bit, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"This just checks your knees," said the doctor. "Just hang your feet over the side of the bed here. That's right." Ed licked his lips nervously, and the doctor soon discovered why.

"An automail leg too, huh?" he said, sliding the pant-leg up a bit to look at it more closely. "Does Maes know about this, I wonder?" Ed shrugged and kept a steady glare. The doctor just smiled. "This is quality workmanship," he complimented. "My mother works with automail," he added. "Maybe someday we can get her to give you a tune-up, huh?" Ed didn't answer. "Alright; that's it for the physical exam. Now I'll just clean up these scrapes and we'll be finished." The doctor pulled a jar of cream out of his bag and quckly but carefully applied a bit - first to the scrape on his forehead and then the few on his stomach, chest and left arm.

Dr. Rockbell sighed and frowned, looking at Ed's right arm. He had noticed it right away, of course, but had intentionally left it for later. "I'm going to put some special cream around here where the metal touches your skin," he said, motioning to Ed's right arm - right where it ached. "You've got some frostbite around there. It'll feel kind of weird at first; kind of tingly, but it shouldn't hurt." Ed remained silent and allowed the doctor to apply the cream around his shoulder. It _did_ feel strange as it started to sink in. It felt... warm. Like a heating pad.

Finally the doctor took out a small roll of gauze, and set it on the bed while he shifted through his bag for a few other things from his first-aid kit. Ed had caught the glances at his left wrist a few times, and he could guess that the doctor had left it for last because it would hurt to treat it. "Alright," said Dr. Rockbell once he had set out a few more things. "Now lets see that wrist of yours." Ed hesitated, and then nervously held it out to the doctor. He had expected a _little_ pain. What hit him as the doctor pressed a wet cloth against it was like a sledgehammer.

-----

Hughes and Maria both stood outside the bedroom, waiting anxiously for the doctor to finish looking at Ed, and hoping that the 12-year-old would make it through the examination without 'blowing up.' Unfortunately for them, after about 15 minutes the sound of a panicked shout followed by a sudden crash came from within the room. Hughes pushed open the door and hurried in, only to have Edward collide with him and send them both toppling.

"Brother!" Alphonse's voice called fearfully. Maes made a grab for the 12-year-old, but Ed twisted out of his grip violently and made a second dash for the now-open door. Maria moved swiftly into his path, and he couldn't stop fast enough to prevent colliding with her as well. Although he had prepared himself for another struggle, she didn't grab at his arms as most people did when trying to restrain him. Instead she wrapped her arms around him.

Edward gasped, taking a deep breath, then another. He couldn't move, but it wasn't because anyone was restraining him. His body just _wouldn't move._ A surge of emotion rushed through him, and he trembled violently, but felt his body relaxing.

Maria's eyes widened as she felt Edward relax in her arms. She had expected him to fight her, but he didn't. So doing the only thing that seemed appropriate at the time, she kept him in her embrace and rubbed his back soothingly. The doctor and Al from further inside the room, and Hughes sitting on the floor a few feet away all stared at her in shock. Slowly they began to move again, and Hughes started by picking up the small wooden shelf that Edward had apparently crashed into in his rush to escape the doctor.

"Are you alright now?" asked Maria softly, pulling away from Edward slowly. With her crouching down, they were eye level. She kept her hands on his shoulders, but once the distance between them had increased a bit, Ed looked up at her face and immediately moved back a few steps. She caught an agonized look cross his eyes briefly before it was replaced by hot anger once more.

Edward allowed himself to be guided back to the bed and sat quietly as the doctor attempted for the second time to disinfect the large raw scrape in his wrist. Although he still pulled back slightly and hissed, he clenched his teeth and bore through the pain. He looked slightly defeated - still as angry as hell at the world - but defeated. He made no reply or even aknowledgement as Dr. Rockbell explained his ailments to the other two adults present while wrapping the gauze around his wrist and hand and taping it.

"He definately has pnemonia," the doctor explained, "and malnourishment. I'll prescribe him some antibiotics, but he should also get some vitamin supplements. They could probably both use them, actually. And cream for the frostbite around here," he added, running a finger along Ed's shoulder and earning a shiver from the boy. "Although automail is usually pretty resistant to changes in temperature, it seems that the constant cold has caused it to irritate the skin."

The doctor sighed and stood up. "Ed, do you and your brother eat the same amount of food?" he asked. Ed didn't even react to the question. His eyes were half-closed and he had an almost dazed look on his face from exhaustion. After a moment, when it was obvious he wasn't going to answer, Al spoke up for him.

"We always share the food we get," he said. He seemed to understand what the doctor was wondering, because he added, "but Ed stays skinnier than me."

The doctor turned to Al. "He seems to be cold," he said.

Al nodded. "He's always cold. Even when its warm, he's cold." The doctor smiled in thanks.

"That's what I thought. Thankyou Alphonse." He turned to Maes and Maria. "I suspect that there's a problem with the lining of the automail just around the edges here. That would cause it to draw away the body heat, which in turn would explain why he's so much thinner and always shivering. There's not really much you can do about it right now, so just make sure he stays indoors and warm."

-----

Ed tuned them all out. His last outburst and then the emotional surge he'd felt, had drained him both physically and mentally. He let the doctor finish bandaging his wrist and then waited for them to leave so that he could just curl up and go back to sleep. He could feel Al's presence next to him, and vaguely smelled the faint scent of strawberries from his candy.

"Do you want some?" Al offered, holding the lollipop out to him. Ed shook his head slowly, his eyes softening as his brothers voice brought him back to reality.

"Edward," said the doctor gently. "I'll leave this here for you, alright?" He set a lollipop on the bed next to him and touched Ed's hair briefly in farewell. "Thankyou. You were very good." Finally, they were leaving. Their voices drifted off down the hallway. Ed fell back on the bed and curled up, not even bothering to pull the shirt back. He closed his eyes, and shutting out the world he felt an instant calm wash over him.

With a sigh, Al pulled the covers over his brother, since he didn't seem willing to move on his own anymore. "Goodnight brother," he said. Ed didn't open his eyes.

"Goodnight," he muttered softly, already half-asleep.

In the kitchen, the adults sat around the table with mugs of tea. Doctor Rockbell, who was also a close friend, had also stayed to enjoy the drink. "It's been quite a while since I've treated anyone in as bad of shape as Edward," the doctor said quietly. "The mistrust and anger in his eyes is so blatantly obvious."

"Hm... you should have seen them take him down earlier," said Maes quietly, taking a sip of his tea. "He fought them tooth and nail, right to the end. That's one kid that did _not_ want to be caught."

"I suspected there was a struggle," said the doctor. "That scrape on his wrist was obviously from concrete... there was a bit of gravel in it, and when I took it out and disinfected it is when he got upset. I warned him, but I don't think he expected it to hurt that much."

"Speaking of which," said Maes innocently. "After all I've seen, I was rather surprised by his reaction to a certain individual..." Maria choked on her tea.

"That's right," said the doctor with a smile. "I know that you're good with children Maria, but I didn't know you had such a calming nature to you."

"I wonder why he _did_ calm down for you," said Maes thoughtfully.

"Yeah..." Maria looked toward the window. Outside the snow was still falling. "I wonder..." But in truth her thoughts were wondering about something else - something she couldn't put into words. When she had hugged him, and he had calmed down from his panic, he had whispered something. The very reason he'd stopped had even shown in his eyes for a second before he'd masked it again. For an instant, he had thought that he was being held in the arms of someone else. What she didn't understand was _why._ And more importantly, _who?_

-----

END

-----

Authors Note: Okay guys, sorry that took me so long to get typed out... thank goodness it's done. I hope it didn't sound too bad at the end. I couldn't quite word it the way I wanted to, so that's what I got... sorry. Anyways, I'll try to get the rest of it typed out as soon as possible. I've just about finished it now; there are 10 chapters and I'll write a sequal once this is all up. Winry is going to be a main character of the sequal, too. And by the way, if anyone knows the first names of the Rockbell's, please let me know. I don't recall every having heard their names... maybe it says in the manga? If not, it's not really important I guess... I just hate making up names for actual characters... thanks for reading, and please review! I need reviews to keep me motivated! Constructive critisism is welcome too!


	4. His Brothers Keeper

**HIS BROTHERS KEEPER**

_**Two children shivered in the cold,**_

_**One twelve and one but ten years old.**_

_**Through frightened eyes they watched the lights**_

_**Spin by the chaos of their lives. **_

_**A message here and there was thrown,**_

_**But nowhere left for them to go,**_

_**And in the silence of the night**_

_**Into the cold they both took flight. **_

_**Two children shivered in the storm,**_

_**Huddled close to keep them warm.**_

_**Through betrayed eyes he watched, with hate**_

_**That curled around him like a snake. **_

_**Without a mother, far from home,**_

_**Along the city streets they roamed.**_

_**Until the weather-beaten child**_

_**In order to survive, turned wild. **_

_**Two children shivered in the night;**_

_**The older taking up the fight.**_

_**And where a beaten pup had fled,**_

_**A lion bore it's teeth instead. **_

_**His heart would always yearn to find**_

_**The one who'd left them both behind,**_

_**But with his mother lost and dead,**_

_**He'd guard his brother in her stead. **_

-Written by Shady

_**-----**_

**Chapter Four: His Brothers Keeper**

**-----**

Al lay awake in his bed for a long time. The room seemed so much... _bigger_... when the house was quiet and the lights were out. So big it was almost - a little bit - scary. Suddenly he felt very afraid again. He needed his brother. Climbing quietly out of bed, he followed the sound of his brothers ragged breathing until he came across the other's bed.

"Brother?" Al whispered, pulling gently on his left arm.

"Mmm..." Ed's response was an unintelligable grumble. But he seemed to understand the reason Al was waking him, because he rolled over onto his back to make room for Al to crawl under the covers next to him. Al felt safe next to his brother, and with one arm draped across Ed's chest, he fell asleep. Ed smiled and sighed peacefully in his sleep. For the first time in a very long time, he wasn't one bit cold.

At 10:00 the following morning, Maria brought two bowls of porridge up to the boys' room. She paused outside the closed door and listened to the soft sound of laughter and voices that came from the other side. She knocked softly. "Can I come in?" she called. There was the sound of running feet and suddenly the door was pulled open by Alphonse. She smiled back at him and stepped into the room. Ed was seated cross-legged on the floor in front of a large puzzle, and a clear spot across from him made it apparent where Al had been sitting.

"I see you guys have been up for a while," she said, setting down the two bowls on a low table. "If you wake up early in the mornings, you can come on downstairs. Glacia's up early too, and she can fix you guys some breakfast." Ed leaned back against his bed and closed his eyes as another wave of dizziness passed.

"Edward?" Maria asked in concern. "We have medicine for you to take. And an inhaler for if you have trouble breathing." She held out a small plastic tube. "Do you know how to use this?"

"How would _I_ know?" he snapped, so suddenly it caught her slightly off guard. It appeared that after getting a good nights sleep some of his energy had returned - and with it, his attitude.

"Then I'll show you," said Maria kindly. "You hold this piece in your mouth and breathe in as you push the button in." She went through the motions without actually putting it to her lips, and then handed it to him. After a few long seconds he reached out and took it.

"Alright," said Maria straightening up. "Why don't you guys eat up before your breakfast gets cold." Al moved over to the table immediately.

"Thankyou Maria!" he chirped politely. Ed slid over to his own bowl and picked up the spoon wordlessly. As the two boys began eating, Maria backed out of the room. Better to leave them be, she thought. Let them settle down and relax.

Ed had only eaten a few bites of the porridge when another wave of dizziness passed through him, this time much worse than the others. He'd been having these spells all morning, but not badly, and usually not very frequently. But he had noticed that they were getting worse and more often. _Just breathe,_ thought Ed. _It'll pass_. He waited for it to pass, but it didn't. Instead, it got worse. Ed dropped his spoon and pressed both hands against his head, groaning in pain.

"Brother?" Al looked up at the sound. Ed let out one more pained cry and then collapsed onto his side. "Brother!" Al was by his side in an instant. "Brother!" he shook him gently. "Wake up!" Panic began to rise in him at the seemingly lifeless form of his brother, and hot tears stung at his eyes. Giving him one last shake, Al ran to the door. "Maria!" he cried desperately. "Maria!"

Glacia and Maria were conversing lightly at the bottom of the stairs when they heard Al's terrified shouts. Both women ran up the steps. "What's wrong, Al?" Maria asked the shaking boy in the hall.

"I don't know," he managed to say through his sobs. Glacia wrapped her arms around him reassuringly. "B - brother, he..." Realization struck them, and Maria hurried passed them and into the bedroom while Glacia comforted a very frightened Al.

-----

Maria hurried to Ed's side, but she could tell from his raspy breathing that at least he _was_ breathing. "Should I call Dr. Rockbell?" asked Glacia from the hall, sounding calm for the sake of the younger boy.

"Yes," replied Maria. "I think he's just fainted."

"I'll be right back," Glacia said to Al, and then she hurried down the steps. Al turned and returned to the bedroom. Maria was just lifting the unconcious Ed back onto his bed. She was surprised to see he was shivering again, even though a film of sweat had formed across his forehead and was running down his face and neck. She pulled the covers up around him and then turned to comfort Al.

"Don't worry Alphonse," she said gently. "The doctor will be here in a minute. Why don't we clear away some of these toys while we wait, okay?" Al nodded and with a last sniffle he wiped away his tears. Maria helped him clear away the toys, silently praying that the doctor was at home. Glacia came in a few minutes later with a bowl of cold water and a towel, which she used to wipe away the sweat from his neck and face, and then rinsed and lay across his forehead.

"Doctor Rockbell is on his way over," she informed them as she worked. She studied Ed carefully, from his pale face and flushed cheeks to his wheezy breathing. "I wonder if he should be admitted to the hospital," she said thoughtfully.

"No!" Al piped up fearfully. "Brother hates hospitals. He'll be too angry if you lock him up in one!" The two women exchanged glances. The doorbell rang, preventing any further conversation on the matter.

"Hello?" called Dr. Rockbell as he let himself into the house. Glacia headed out the door to greet the man, and a few minutes later they both came into the room.

"Well what have we here?" he said calmly, offering a reassuring smile to the teary-eyed Alphonse, who was holding his brothers left hand tightly. Doctor Rockbell quickly felt along Ed's throat. Then, taking out his stethoscope, he pulled back the covers and lifted his shirt. The room was quiet, save for the sniffing of Alphonse and the noisy harsh breathing of Edward as the doctor worked.

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Alphonse when Dr. Rockbell pulled Ed's shirt back down.

"I would say so," said the doctor with a reassuring smile. "But your brother is very sick. He's going to need some special attention. And _someone_ will need to watch over him until he gets better, and make sure he lets us help him."

"I'll watch over him," Alphonse volunteered at once.

"Perfect," said the doctor. He then turned to the two women. "I brought an oxygen machine that you can set up next to his bed in case his breathing gets any worse," he said. "And has he had any antibiotics yet today?"

Maria shook her head. "I was just going to get them when he passed out."

"Alright, that's good then. There won't be any interferance with the shot I'm going to give him right now. I'll just run out to the car and get the supplies." Maria followed him out.

"He'll need to stay in bed," said the doctor softly. "He should be up and about as little as possible, even if he _wants_ to be up. At least until the worst of this has passed. I'm surprised he's been able to stay up as long as he has. I didn't think it was at this stage of the sickness already when I looked at him last night."

The doctor paused when they stepped outside. "Normally I'd say admit him to the hospital, but I don't think that's a good idea in this case. Obviously he's able to push himself right to the limit if he feels he needs to, so I think it's best to just keep him here with his brother where he will hopefully be at ease."

Maria sighed. "He's so sick... and if given the choice, he would still have chosen the streets over coming to us for help."

"I can understand that mind-frame," said the doctor. At Maria's confused expression he went on. "I don't know their history, but I don't need to. His silence speaks loudly enough. When I looked at them yesterday, I could tell that he's been abused at some point or another. Although Al is pretty much unmarked, Edward is covered in scars. It's obvious that whatever hell they've been through, he's taken the brunt of it for his brother's sake. Which explains the difference in personalities as well; Al is more trusting and friendly, but also cautious. He relies on his brother. And Edward... he's got the eyes of a dog that's been kicked and beaten and turned stray." He looked back at the house. "I guess what I'm trying to say, is that stray's might learn how to bite, but it's only out of fear of the hand that beat them. And Edward might seem angry and bitter, but it's stemmed from fear and mistrust."

The doctor stepped foreward suddenly off of the step and into the snow, walking toward his car. He pulled open the door and handed Maria a small machine and took out a kit. The two of them headed back to the house with them, and Maria pondered over the doctor's words.

-----

Edward felt himself slowly rising from the depths of his comfortable unconsiousness. He'd been dreaming. It was a nice dream, and he was reluctant to leave it, but somewhere in his mind he knew that his brother was waiting for him. And so, slowly, he reached the surface.

He was... comfortable. He decided that was the best way to describe it as he woke. Keeping his eyes closed, he flexed the fingers of his left hand and wriggled the toes of his right foot slightly. As the feeling of his body returned to him, he felt suddenly very heavy. So the weight of the world had returned to him - a weight he could only ever escape in his sleep.

But there was something else that seemed odd to him. Not bad, really, just... different. Something in the air, letting him breathe easily. His sense of hearing returned gradually, and he listened to the soft sounds around him. The constant but almost comforting tick of a clock... soft voices in the distance... the hum of some sort of machine to his right... was that the sound of a book page being turned? But the loudest sound of all, because it was closest to him, was the sound of his own steady breathing. It was much smoother, with only the occasional hitch to his breath, but it sounded strangely... echoed.

Slowly Ed opened his eyes. The world was blurry for a moment, but as it began to clear he furrowed his brows in confusion. Where _was_ he? He had a breathing mask on, which explained a few things that his disoriented mind had failed to grasp, but this wasn't a hospital. Al had pulled a chair up to the bed and fallen asleep half on the bed with his head resting next to Ed's right knee. So Al was safe. Good. But that still didn't explain where he was.

The sound of a page being turned again brought his attention toward the bedroom door, where a woman sat reading a book. He recognized her. _'Mother?'_ he thought, confused. No, merely the woman he had mistaken for his mother once... And slowly it returned to him.

Ah yes; the fight, the police station, the house and the doctor. The doctor who had put a burning liquid on his cut wrist - he remembered THAT part quite clearly. This was where he'd slept that night. And he remembered, the following morning something about getting dressed, clowns, and oatmeal.

Okay, so something had obviously happened between then and now to land him in bed again, with this itchy mask over his mouth and nose. He scowled at the thought, and suddenly wanted very badly to get the thing OFF of his face. With both arms entangled in the blankets, it took a bit of effort and enough rustling to alert the black-haired woman of his conciousness.

"Hey there," Maria said softly, setting down her book and stepping closer. Ed stiffened and glared at her, as if daring her to make any sudden moves. At the same time, he pulled weakly at the mask, but his hand was so weak he gave up with a sigh.

"You gave us quite a scare there," Maria said, smiling reassuringly. "How do you feel?" Ed continued to glare, without answering. He didn't like being trapped under her gaze like that, and the sudden need to get away prompted him to begin struggling. The attempt was feeble, but it took enough of his precious energy to have him in a sweat. Al woke up as Ed moved his legs, and was instantly alert.

"No brother!" he cried, jumping up and pushing Ed's shoulders gently back against the pillows. "You have to stay in bed, or you won't get better." Ed visibly relaxed, despite the cold glare he still cast toward Maria. She smiled softly. With a bit of luck, Alphonse would make things a lot easier. Acting as a mediator between Ed and the rest of the world until the 12-year-old was willing to open up a bit, however, would probably be quite a tiring task.

-----

A week passed, and every day Ed was forced to endure the unbearable company of these 'strangers.' Al was fine. He needed Al to keep him from stringing out a line of foul words now and then, and twice Al had kept him in bed when he'd been on the verge of getting up just to spite these people. Okay, put simply, he needed Al to keep him sane.

His regular visitors included Maria and Glacia (who Al had especially taken a liking to) and Maes and the doctor. They usually just came to run simple errands - Glacia cleaned the bathroom and sometimes changed the bedding. She brought in clean laundry (apparently they had found some old clothes for them), took out the old laundry, and sometimes tidied up whatever toys Al had left out. Twice in that first week she had changed the bedding, which had involved Ed getting up and sitting on Al's bed until she was done. Glacia was calm, quiet, and gentle. Not only in her face, but in everything she did. Always soft, always gentle, and always patient.

Maria usually brought him his meals, and she also gave him a book to read. It was a small novel, but it was fairly interesting. He read when he could, but most of the time it hurt his eyes too much after five minutes and he had to put it down. The small company of the two women he didn't mind as much usually. Maes also stopped in, but he usually stayed for a while, playing a game on the floor with Al, or talking about random things that he found interesting. Ed rarely commented, but he DID pay attention. Sometimes they were interesting.

Slowly, as the days passed and he was confined to his bed (with the exception of going to the bathroom, of course) he adjusted to their company. The doctor stopped by for a few minutes every day to check the equipment and change the dressing on his wrist, and sometimes he even brought a treat for Al and him. Ed's candy usually went untouched until Al finally ate it for him, with the exception of a piece of chocolate.

Ed came to look forward to Maes's visits the most though. He would sometimes stay for a long time and play a board game with Al, or the three of them would do a puzzle on a table that could go across Ed's bed, or occasionally hold a (mostly-one-sided) conversation with Ed. He was a friendly man. They were all friendly people. But that didn't mean they wouldn't disappear too, and this one thought kept a part of Ed ever-bitter toward them.

-----

One afternoon the two boys sat on Ed's bed, a table pulled across between them, working on a puzzle. Edward had finally gotten well enough to take off the oxygen mask permanately, and he was quite glad to be rid of it. "These people are nice," said Al softly. "Don't you think so, brother?"

Ed was silent, but narrowed his eyes in thought. "You shouldn't get too attached to them," he said at last. Al lowered his gaze and watched his brother work on the puzzle for a moment. It was a difficult one, and Al could only fit the odd pieces now and then, but Ed was putting it together with ease. He was always that way - always so perceptive - always thinking and piecing things together. A puzzle probably seemed easy compared to their lives. Al sighed.

"Don't you like being here?" he asked.

"No." The answer was sharper than he'd intended, and Ed cringed inwardly. v

Al was unfazed. He knew his brother better than anyone - better than he knew himself sometimes. And he knew that he was lying. "Why?" he asked. "I know I don't remember as many things as _you_ do, but... I can barely remember mom, but... she would have wanted us to be happy, right?"

Ed got that pained expression in his eyes again, and Al felt his heart sink. Why did he have to go and say that? Ed pushed the half-finished puzzle away gently, and lay back against his pillows, rolling onto his side. "Why don't you go and see what Glacia is doing?" he said quietly. Al's face fell. "There's no point in you staying in here all the time if you don't have to. I'm fine on my own now and then."

Al slowly climbed off the bed and walked to the door. There he paused and glanced back at his brother. With his back to him, Al couldn't see his face, but he knew that he wanted to be left along for a while. With a sigh, he closed the door and headed downstairs. He could hear Glacia humming from the living room and headed that way.

Edward waited until he could no longer hear his brothers footsteps, and then he closed his eyes. He enjoyed sleep - the way all of the troubles seemed to fall away in the darkness. And - for a while at least - he needed that comfort.

-----

END

-----

Authors Note: This chapter felt a bit shorter. Sorry about that, I didn't really mean to change the length. Anyways, starting from here is where it gets a bit difficult; I wanted to show the difference in opinions between the Elric brothers and their desires, but at the same time I wanted to maintain the brotherly bond between them as much as possible. Hopefully I can keep doing that... I'll have the next chapter up soon! Thanks for reading, and please review!

P.S.

For anyone who was wondering where the reference to the clown came from, it was just a funny thing I felt like throwing in. Technically the reason Edward 'remembered something about clowns' was because the puzzle he and Al were doing before Maria brought them breakfast and he passed out was one of clowns. I didn't actually mention that, so I don't expect many people to have figured it out, but yeah... I added it anyways, just cuz I felt like being random.


	5. It's A Matter of Trust

**Chapter Five: It's A Matter of Trust**

**-----**

Ed looked at his reflection in the mirror and frowned. It wasn't an unhappy frown, really, or even a moody one (which he was famous for by now). No... this was one of thoughtful consideration as he looked over his body. His ribs had filled out, and most of the old scars were much less prominent. As for the fresher cuts, well... thanks to the doctors treatments, they would probably fade altogether. The one above his eye was already almost gone. With a sigh he finished undressing and stepped into the waiting bath. Maria had run it for him, insisting that after being bed-ridden for nearly two weeks, he needed to have a nice good soak.

He sighed and leaned back against the side of the tub, closing his eyes in relaxation. It _did_ feel nice. And it smelled nice, too... like some sort of flower. He sat quietly for a few minutes with his eyes closed before he began to get bored. He glanced up, admiring absently the decorative wallpaper... painted bubbles... blue and white... very interesting.

Eventually his eyes slid down to a big red plastic bucket that sat next to the tub. Curiosity got the better of him, and he moved over to take a look over the edge of the tub. The bucket was filled with toys. Ah yes, hadn't Al mentioned something about the bath toys? Probably when he was still dillusional from all of the medication he'd been getting... Ed reached down slowly and picked up a plastic dolphin. Then he sat back against the wall of the tub and looked at it.

What was he supposed to _do_ with this thing? A puzzle he could understand. Or a board-game or card-game. Those things had an objective to them. But this... He let go of the toy and watched it float, resting his chin on his knees.

Once... a long time ago... he'd had toys. There were memories of teddy bears, trains and tracks, bouncing ball and building blocks. They were distant, but there nonetheless. Yes... once he had known how to play with those toys, too. He'd been able to create something out of nothing, just like any other child.

-----

_"What are you making?" _

_"It's a castle. And the knights are gonna come and protect it." _

_"Are they?" _

_"Yup, cuz there's a special treasure inside..." _

_-----_

Ed blinked and sat up, his eyes still on the floating toy. A tear rolled down his face and he picked it up again. Al believed that there was nothing he could do, that Edward couldn't, but he was wrong. Al could do it. Al could make-believe things. There were lots of things Al could do that he couldn't. Like trust people for one. Like let go of the past and move on. Like smile and forget everything bad that had ever happened. Like... play with a toy.

Ed stared at the dolphin. If he pretended that it was read, and alive... and that this bathtub was the ocean... then maybe...

Maria, who was changing the sheets on Ed's bed, jumped at the sound of a sharp crash in the bathroom. She hurried to the door. "Ed?" she called in concern, trying the door only to find it locked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," came the angry reply, and with a sigh Maria stepped back. She finished changing the sheets and bedding, and soon Edward came out of the bathroom, clad only in a pair of loose-fitting pants. He walked over to his now neatly-made bed and collapsed onto it face-first with a sigh. Maria noticed that his hair, although wet on the ends and around his face, was mostly dry still.

"Hey Ed?" she asked. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Mm?" he said without moving.

"Can you let me wash out your hair?"

"No."

Maria frowned. "It's not going to _hurt_," she said.

"I don't care."

She was getting slightly frustrated - not necessarily from the fact that he was refusing (since she knew he would right from the start) but from the simple answers. "_Please_ Ed? It won't take long, and I bet it will feel better afterward," she pleaded. He turned his head slowly to look back at her out of the corner of his eye. His options passed through his mind lazily. He could refuse, which would probably result in a struggle later on when Maes was home to _force_ him to let her wash his hair... or he could let her do it now and get it over with, avoiding all of the stress and wasted energy.

"Fine," he stated simply. Maria had to consiously keep her jaw from dropping at his response.

"What?" she asked in shock. She hadn't actually _expected_ him to agree.

"I said _fine_," Edward replied smartly. "You can wash my hair if it'll make you happy." He rolled over onto his back and sat up, locking his eyes on her. "Or did you change your mind already?"

"No, no!" said Maria quickly, waving her hands in front of her. She smiled. "That's great! Let me just put this stuff in the wash and I'll take you downstairs." She set the basket of dirty linen by the door and then turned to get the clothes and towels from the bathroom. As she pushed open the door she heard it knock gently against something on the floor. She closed the door partially behind herself to see what was there.

One of the toys - a dolphin to be exact - lay in a broken pile beneath the wall, which it had obviously not-so-accidentally collided with very forcefully. That explained the sound she'd heard.

Maria picked up the pieces and set them on the bathroom counter. Then she scooped up the laundry and headed back out into the bedroom. Edward was busy shuffling through clothes for a fresh shirt from a drawer they had recently put a few new things into for the boys. It was a long-sleeved t-shirt he eventually emerged with. Taking all of the laundry, Maria headed down the hall. When she returned a few minutes later to find Ed just finishing rubbing cream on his shoulder, she was empty-handed and smiling.

"Come on," she said cheerfully, and Ed followed her (slowly) down the hall to the stairs. It had been two days since Dr. Rockbell had proclaimed him well enough to get out of bed, and he'd only actually gone downstairs once since then. That had been the night before, to the kitchen for a few minutes for hot chocolate. Even though he'd been there for almost three weeks, Ed had no idea what the house was like other than his bedroom, the kitchen, and the hall and stairs in between.

"It's just down here," said Maria, flicking on the living room lights and walking through it to a hall on the other side. Ed glanced warily at the doors they passed, until finally Maria stopped at one on the left. She opened the door and stepped inside, and once the lights were on, Ed followed. His eyes widened in surprise. It was a small barber shop - obviously not used very often, but meticulously clean.

"What kind of house IS this?" Ed asked, trying to sound rude but ending up just sounding slightly annoyed.

Maria just smiled and motioned to a chair in front of a sink. Ed walked slowly toward it and with a scowl on his face, he sat down. "Just lean back here," she said, laying a rolled-up towel around his shoulders. He did as told, and found that the sink was shaped for his neck. Rather disturbing really. Most of his hair cuts just involved taking scizzers to his head at one of the foster homes they'd been in.

Maria was gentle while she worked, however, and despite himself Ed found himself relaxing He stared at the cieling through half-lidded eyes and wondered vaguely how many people had actually had their hair washed in here. Eventually she turned off the water and dried his hair with the towel. He sat up in the chair and waited for her to finish fussing.

"Hm..." she said thoughtfully.

"Hmm what?" asked Ed.

"Your hair is getting pretty long in the back," she replied.

"Hair _does_ have a habit of _growing_," he said smartly. She cringed at his sarcastic tone, but didn't reply. Instead she set to brushing out his hair. Eventually she set down the brush and began to braid the back, earning her a curious look from Ed, who tried to turn to see what she was doing. She could only do a few folds in the braid, since his hair wasn't actually _that_ long - the longest pieces in the back only came down to his shoulders - but when she showed him in the mirror he gave her a skeptical look and hopped off the chair. He walked to the door, leaving the braid in place, and Maria couldn't help but smile. Apparently he didn't mind it that much after all. She dried her hands and followed him out of the room.

"When are they coming back?" Ed asked. Al had gone with Maes and Glacia to get some groceries, but they had left over an hour ago.

"I'm sure they won't be much longer now," Maria replied. "Do you want to watch some TV?" They had made it to the living room, and Ed glanced toward the large black screen without much interest.

"I don't care," he said.

"Well what _do_ you want to do?" she asked.

Ed hesitated slightly, thinking, and then replied "I don't care." Maria sighed in exhasperation.

She flicked on the television and Ed sat down on the couch with a quiet sigh. He was looking at the floor, at the walls - anywhere to escape meeting her eyes. Either he was pissed off and glaring, or he was quiet and wouldn't talk to them - wasn't there a happy median with this kid? She set the remote down next to him and he looked at it before eventually reaching out and, using one finger, flicking the channels.

Maria watched the TV screen absently as he continued changing channels, lost in her own thoughts. She snapped awake as, with a sudden click, the screen went dark. She glanced at Ed, who was resting his chin on his knees, staring at the blank screen. He stood abruptly.

"It's too loud," he said simply, heading toward the doorway. "And it hurts my eyes." With a sigh, Maria followed him out passed the front door and into the kitchen. He glanced around briefly, and then walked to the door on the other side. Much to his surprise, it was a descending stairwell.

"What's down there?" he asked.

Maria was glad that he was at least showing some curiosity about his surroundings. "Some storage rooms," she replied. "And a few other rooms, I think. I don't know - I usually avoid having to go down there."

"Oh." Ed sighed and turned back to the living room. There he pulled back the curtains of the window slightly and rested his chin on the sill. He stared absently out at the swirling snow.

-----

_"Everything sleeps in the winter. The snow is like a beautiful white blanket that sparkles and shines." _

_"I think it looks like fun." The sound of laughter, soft and familiar. _

_"I suppose it's that, too. Edward... will you make me a snow angel..?"_

_-----_

Ed inhaled sharply and lifted his head. "What's wrong?" asked Maria.

"Nothing," he snapped. "Leave me alone." He turned and strode passed her up the stairs to his room. Maria sighed. Every time it seemed like he was starting to open up - even a tiny bit - he closed himself off again.

'_Maybe it's just a matter of trust,'_ she thought. Yes... with a little more time, maybe he would trust them enough to take down his wall. But for that to happen, he would likely need his brothers help.

Up in his room, Ed collapsed onto his bed, his eyes closed tightly, trying to block out everything around him for a while. He felt his heart aching, but he didn't cry. Instead he took his pillow and hurled it against the far wall. Then he slid to the floor and sat leaning against his bed, his knees pulled up to his chest and his face hidden behind them. And there he stayed.

-----

Maria heard the car pull up and she went to open the door. Alphonse was the first one in, carrying a bag of groceries in one hand and a large box tucked under the other arm. He was grinning ear to ear. Maria looked from him to Maes, who came in just behind him. He had an amused smile on his face. The boys personality was obviously contageous - even Maria felt a smile drawing at her lips just looking at him grinning like that.

"Did you have fun?" Maria asked him, taking the bag from him,

"Yeah," he replied, kicking off his shoes. "And look what I got!" He held up the box, which had a picture of the large red car it contained on the front.

"Wow," she said, grinning back at him. "Aren't you lucky." She turned to take a few things from Glacia as well, who thanked her, and eventually they all ended up in the kitchen.

"Is it ever snowing out there," said Maes, brushing a few unmelted snowflakes out of his hair. "But the roads aren't too bad yet."

Al hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs to show his brother his new toy, and once he was out of earshot Maria turned back to the Hughes'. "So how was he?"

"An absolute angel," said Glacia, smiling. "What a sweet personality."

Maes laughed. "I asked if he wanted to pick out a toy from the discount shelf and he was exstatic," he said. "You'd think he'd died and gone to heaven." Glacia nodded her agreement.

"So how did it go here? You didn't have any trouble?" she asked Maria.

"Actually it went quite well. He even let me wash his hair out."

"Really?" asked Maes in surprise.

"Yeah... although I think he's in a bad mood right now," she added. "He stormed upstairs a while ago - I have no idea what set him off - but I decided to leave him alone and let him cool off."

"I think we can probably expect some mood swings for a while," said Glacia. "Even though they're brothers, their personalities are completely different, and Edward is having a much harder time with this change than Al is."

"Yeah..." Maes agreed quietly. "But don't worry; we've got plenty of time over Christmas. I'm sure he'll come around in his own good time."

-----

Ed was still sitting on the floor by his bed when Al came into the room. "Brother!" Al called excitedly. "Look what we got!" Ed looked up at the red box Al was holding and smile, but not at the toy. Just hearing his brothers voice brought his spirits up. Al, recognizing at once that his brother was in a sensitive mood, kept his grin in place but brought his excitement under control so as not to agitate Ed.

He set the box down on the floor between them and set to opening it. After a moment of frustration on Al's part over the unwilling box, Ed reached over to help.

"Maybe we should just bang it against the wall a few times, and it'll open?" Ed suggested teasingly a few minutes later.

"Are you crazy? That'll just break it," replied Alphonse.

"Well this isn't working," Ed said.

"I can see that, thanks," replied Al. He was getting frustrated with the stubborn thing.

"Let me see it," said Ed with a sigh, picking up the box.

"No!" cried Al, making a grab for it, worried that Ed might actually test out his box-against-wall idea. What resulted was that both boys ended up with a handle on the box.

"I'm not gonna break it," said Ed.

"That's what you said about the last toy we had, and then _you_ threw it out the window!" said Al, using his entire weight to pull on it.

Ed smirked at the memory. "But I _hit_ that doofus, didn't I?"

"That's not the point!" Al huffed. Ed gave one good pull and suddenly the cardboard ripped in two. Al and Ed both fell back onto the floor, and the red car landed - unharmed - between them.

There was a moment of stunned silence before they both broke into a fit of laughter that resounded throughout their room. All three adults looked up toward their bedroom in surprise. The sound brought smiles to all of their lips.

_'Yeah,'_ thought Maes with a grin. _'In his own good time, he'll definitely come around.' _

-----

END

-----

Authors Note: I wanted to end this chapter on a happy note, so that's what I did... hopefully it didn't sound too corny. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think of the story so far. Halfway done uploading... that's not too bad, huh? At least with it already written out, we know this won't be one of those fics people start and never finish... and don't take that personally, cuz I've done it before too! Thanks for reading!

Mistress of Darkness


	6. Indecision

**Chapter Six: Indecision**

**-----**

The morning came too slowly for Al, who lay awake from 6:00 on, and too soon for Ed, who was awakened by Al turning on their bedroom light at _exactly_ 7:00 in the morning. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers up over his head. "Brother!" Al chirped, reaching under the covers to pull at his brothers left arm. Since Ed was lying on his stomach, his left arm was closer to Al, making this quite easy.

Edward mumbled something that sounded sort of like "Lemmealoneitstooearly," but wasn't quite coherent enough for Al to be certain. Taking another approach, Al took a good hold on the blanket, waited a moment for Ed's guard to drop, and the pulled the covers back before his brother could grab them.

"Al!" Ed whined, pulling the pillow over his head since the blanket was no longer available.

"Come on Brother, wake up!" Al pleaded excitedly. "We're going out today, remember?"

"I don't think they meant first thing in the morning..." Ed grumbled, but he rolled over anyway and sat up. He yawned widely and waited while Al tossed him a pair of pants and a sweater from the drawer. Ed blinked himself fully awake and glanced down at the clothes now strewn across his lap, a little surprised to see them there.

Al was already half-dressed when Ed finally slipped down off of his bed and started changing out of his pajamas. Al waited impatiently as Ed went into the bathroom to pull a brush through the front half of his hair (the back was still braided), and then the two boys made their way into the hall and down the stairs.

Ed paused at the bottom of the stairs and sniffed. "That smells good!" he said at the aroma of food that reached them.

"It's Saturday," said Al. "Glacia always makes bacon and eggs and hash-browns on Saturdays."

"Since when?" Ed blinked, frowning.

"Ooh yeah..." Al said, realization dawning on him. "You were sick, so you haven't eaten with us on a Saturday yet."

"What? So I've been stuck eating _soup _while you've been gorging yourself on the good stuff?"

Al took a step back, grinning sheepishly. "Well... the doctor said that you shouldn't eat the richer foods until you were better, so..."

"What!" Ed demanded. "Well the next time he stops by, I'll have to remember to _thank_ him for considering my health, and then _pound_ him into oblivion!"

"Brother..." Al dropped his head in defeat. Sometimes... there could be no reasoning with Ed - even for Al. "I guess it's a good thing I woke you up early," he said with a smile. "Or else you'd end up missing it _again_."

-----

"Morning boys," said Maes as he came from the direction of the living room. He patted Al on the head, and simply smiled and nodded a greeting to Ed, who had stepped back to prevent being touched. "Perfect timing," he said. "I think breakfast is almost ready."

In the kitchen, Glacia was indeed standing at the stove, and Maria was setting the table. Within moments both boys were seated with heaping plates in front of them. Just the smell had Ed's mouth watering. "Well," said Glacia, taking her own seat. "Dig in."

Ed wolfed down his breakfast as if he'd never eaten before in his life. He couldn't even _remember_ the last time he'd eaten food this good. Glacia and Maria exchanged glances across the table, but Maes just laughed. "So, Ed," he said. "Are you excited to go shopping today?"

"What makes you think _that_?" Ed replied through a mouthful of bacon.

"The fact that you got up and came down this morning," he replied.

"Al wants to go," said Ed boredly. "I don't really care."

"Well I think it's great," said Glacia with a smile. "We can get you boys some clothes that fit better." Al smiled back happily and Ed returned his attention to his plate. When they finished eating, Ed and Al both remained sitting at the table, fidgeting.

"Hm," said Maes thoughtfully. "The mall won't open until 10:00 today... what should we do until then?"

"Let's play a board-game," suggested Al.

"A board--game, huh?" said Maes. "I think I could do that. Would you ladies like to play?"

"Let me tidy up these dishes first," said Glacia with a smile. Ed was surprised. He had expected them to make excuses - say that they were to busy - not to actually _agree_ to play with them.

"Great," said Maes. "Lets go pick a game, then."

"Wash up first," said Glacia, referring to all three of the 'boys.' Maes just grinned and pushed in his chair.

"Yes dear..."

-----

Ed stood back and watched as Al and Maes looked through the stack of board-games. They commented back and forth to each other, and eventually emerged with two games. "Which one do you like better?" Maes asked Ed.

"I don't care," replied the blonde.

Al gave his brother a puppy-eyed look. With a sigh, Ed pointed to the game on the left. "UNO, huh?" asked Maes curiously. He set the other game down and headed to the door with Al in tow.

"What's wrong brother?" Al asked. Maes paused in the hallway to wait.

"I don't think I wanna play," said Ed.

Al returned to his brothers side. "Come on brother," he pleaded softly. "You'll have fun. You like card-games, remember?"

"Yeah... I remember." Al moved behind his brother and pushed him toward the door. "Alright already!" he said as Al continued to push him out the door and down the hall. "I'm going." Maes just smiled and followed them down the stairs.

-----

The kitchen table was cleared, and all five of them sat around it, waiting while Maria dealt out the cards. "Do you know how to play?" she asked. Ef didn't reply, but Al shook his head, so she explained the rules quickly. Then they got started with the actual game. They played several rounds, and much to everyone's surprise, Ed won almost every one of them.

After almost an hour, Hughes asked, "what other games are you good at, Ed?"

Ed answered without really thinking. If he had been paying attention, he probably would have ignored the question, or shrugged, but as it was he was distracted with the game and answered; "Rummy and Poker. And Jackass and Cheat." Glacia and Maria both looked up quickly at the use of his profanity, but they let it slide, since apparently it was the name of a game.

Maes had a dangerous glint in his eye, however, and upon noticing this Glacia rolled her eyes and Maria sighed. They knew what was coming now.

"So you like _Poker_, huh?" he asked.

"I said I can _play_," corrected Ed. "I didn't say I _liked_ it."

"Brother's good at chess, too," said Al. "And checkers."

Glacia slapped a hand to her forehead and Maria pushed her chair back ever-so-slightly. "Chess too, huh?" Maes asked, that strange glint in his eyes seeming to double. Al was a little frightened by it, but Ed stared him straight in the eye without backing down.

"I challenge you to a chess match!" said Maes finally.

Ed was silent. A moment ticked by and no one moved or spoke, all eyes on Ed. Finally he answered. "Do you have a chess board?" he asked.

_'Oh no...'_ Glacia and Maria both groaned inwardly. Maes produced the board as if from thin air, and grinned evilly.

"Let's see how you stand up against _me_!" he said.

"Whatever," Ed replied. "I'm black."

"Suit yourself," said Maes. The two of them set up their fields in silence, and everyone else watched quietly. Finally they were ready.

Al knew it had been over a year since his brother had played chess. If it were _him_, he would have made sure everyone knew that, but Ed rarely made excuses. _'If I win I win. If I lose, I lose.' _That's what Edward had told him once. And with the silent moving of a pon, the game began.

There were three things that all three of the adults noticed right away about Ed's style of playing. One; he worked in complete silence. Two; he was quick to calculate and strategize. And three; he was extremely good at the game.

"Check," he said for the second time," and Maes groaned inwardly as he sought a way to protect his king _again_. Glacia and Maria were both snickering in the background. Hopefully this would take him down a notch on the egotistical pedestal he'd acquired in playing chess.

"Hah!" he said, moving another of his pieces. "Beat that!"

"Checkmate."

"Wha..?" Maes jaw dropped. "No way! I am the champion! I am the number one chess-player in my entire _department_! I-"

"Just lost," Edward interrupted. Al grinned.

"I told you my brother was good," he said happily.

Hughes smirked. "Well it looks like I underestimated your skill. Good game, Edward Elric. We'll have to play again sometime."

"Alright, you two," said Glacia. "I hate to break up your post-game conversation, but it's almost 9:30. We should probably get ready to go."

"Ah that's right," said Maria. "And I needed to ask you guys what sort of education you've had?"

"We can read and write, if that's what you mean," replied Edward in a bored tone. Maria grinned sheepishly.

"Well what grade should you be in?"

"I don't know. We were home-schooled sometimes," Ed answered. "Off and on."

"Okay... well I guess we'll have a bit of catching up to do then. But that's all I needed to know. Come on, let's get our stuff together and get going." Glacia and Maes were already at the entryway.

"I'll go start the car," said Maes, and he headed out the door.

"Alphonse, do you have to go to the bathroom?" asked Glacia. "You should try now, before we leave." He nodded and headed off down the hall. "You too, Ed," she said, and he rolled his eyes but headed up the stairs anyway. When they returned, the two boys pulled on their shoes and coats. Al, who had gone shopping a few times, had new shoes but Ed slipped into his old worn-out runners without complaint. They felt weird now... he hadn't worn them since that night.

As the boys stepped out into the snow, the two women in tow, Ed felt his heart pound at the familiar rush of fresh air and freedom. The large yard glittered with untouched snow. He looked around. He hadn't realized that they were this far outside the city, but beyond the yard's fence he could see big open fields of white. "Come on you guys," called Maes from the car. The boys climbed in the back with Maria, and Al placed himself between her and Ed. Maria realized that it had been intentional, although whether it was to protect his brother in the close proximity or to protect them from _him_, she couldn't tell.

Ed was nervous about going to the mall - there were so many strangers there. Maes on the other hand was just as nervous about taking him there. It had been about three weeks since the two had arrived, and Ed hadn't left the house in all that time. This would be the first real outing with him, and they had no idea what to expect.

They drove down the driveway and turned right. After a few minutes Al pointed to a house on their right. "That's doctor Rockbell's house," he said. "He lives really close." Ed looked out the window at the house. There was a swing-set in the yard, although it was covered with snow. The front gate was open, but no one was outside. They passed the house, and Ed sighed, returning his gaze to the scenery that passed by him. There was an awful lot of _white._

It took another ten minutes to reach the city, and quite soon they found themselves pulling into a parking stall of the large mall.

"Have you ever been here, Ed?" asked Glacia from the seat in front of him.

"No," he replied. He was looking out the window at all of the cars in the parkade. Maes cast one more glance at Ed in the rearview mirror, and turned off the car.

-----

The mall was not as busy as it could be, but still busy enough to have a small crowd. As they walked along the enormous place, Al took Glacia's hand and then Maes' in his other hand. He grinned, walking between them, and the couple exchanged a smile over his head. Ed walked a few steps behind with Maria next to him, his eyes flicking over the stores they passed.

"Let's head down to Walmart first," suggested Glacia. "And while we're there, we can get some new shoes for Ed." She smiled back at him softly, but he didn't return the gesture. Instead he lowered his eyes to the floor.

These people... he had grown accustomed to their company somehow or another, but he still didn't understand them. And they just kept on confusing him even more with their displays of kindness and caring. Ed looked up at his brother, walking between Maes and Glacia, grinning and laughing and perfectly content to stay that way.

Ed winced at an inner pain that surfaced from his heart and rose to form a knot in his throat. It wasn't fair - didn't they realize that? It wasn't fair to Al... to treat him like their own child for a little while. Just long enough for him to come to love them - and then they'd be shipped off to another 'home' and a new 'family.' This was only a temporary placement, after all. And though Ed _knew_ that, watching his brother with them... he just couldn't bring himself to remind Al of that.

He looked from his brother to Maes, who was looking down at Al with a smile, talking. Then he looked to Glacia... calm and quiet, with gentle hands. She had a mother's hands. One day, she would probably make a wonderful mother. But not to them. He returned his gaze to the floor, swallowing the lump.

"Ed? Is something wrong?" Maria asked from where she walked next to him.

"No," he replied, as sharply as usual.

-----

They entered the large store and headed down one of the many isles. It was full of shoes, and Ed wrinkled his nose at the sharp scent of leather that was caked onto the whole place.

"Well, take a look around and see if there are any you like," said Maes to Edward. Ed glanced around, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"I don't care," he replied, lapsing back into his old habit. Whenever there were too many choices in front of him, he would pretend he didn't care so that someone else would just decide. And with so many pairs of shoes staring down at him, he had no idea where to even _begin_. Luckily for him, Maes did.

"Al-righty then," he said, walking down the isle with a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "This should be fun."

20 minutes (and about a quadrillion pairs of tried-on shoes) later, they had finally settled on a pair. Al had to hold Ed back the first time Maes had tried to touch his foot - Ed _hated_ being touched by anyone other than his brother - but after the initial outburst he allowed them to try shoes on him, sitting boredly on a chair. He decided about five minutes in, that he'd been right the first time; he really _didn't_ care about shoes.

The pair they eventually settled on were navy and black runners. Glacia also had them choose a pair of winter boots. That finally over with, Ed found himself being dragged along to the clothes section by Al.

Lucky for them, Glacia seemed to have some idea of what they needed. She wordlessly put socks and underwear into the buggy she was pushing as she led them to the boys section. "These are nice," she said to Ed, pointing to a pair of cargo-pants. "Don't you think?" Ed shrugged. "Well we can try them, at least, and see what you think."

It was Maes' turn to stand back and watch, and he and Maria both did just that. They moved through the pants, onto the shirts and sweaters, and eventually found themselves at the change-rooms. Ed and Al both had a lot of things to try on by that point, and she ushered them into a change room with a few sets of clothes each.

"And make sure you come and show me," called Glacia cheerfully. Al called back an 'okay,' and Ed rolled his eyes. He then got down to trying on the first set she had selected. Al's clothes had a bit more variety - he didn't mind short-sleeved clothes or shorter pants. Ed on the other hand, having an automail arm and leg, never went out in public without long sleeves and long pants if he could help it. Even at the house he didn't like to.

After about five minutes the boys emerged to show Glacia the first set of clothes, and after almost an hour they collapsed on the floor at her feet.

"Please no more," said Ed. "Any of those are fine, _really_." The three adults all laughed. It was probably the first time any of them had heard Ed say 'please' before.

"Don't worry," said glacia, smiling. "We're done here." Both boys sighed in relief and got up to follow them away from the change-rooms. Ed was quite certain if he never saw one again, he would be much better off. His heart sank again as they came to an isle with winter coats and snow-pants.

_'You've got to be kidding...'_ he thought. This time when Maes asked which ones he like, Ed actually began to look through the coats himself. Maes thought that he had finally succeeded in getting Ed interested in something. Ed thought that unless he actually _picked_ something, they might spend another hour here.

"What about this one?" asked Ed, holding up a red and black coat with black snow-pants.

"You like it?" asked Maes. Ed nodded. "Great. That's fine. Have you found anything _you_ like, Al?" he asked, turning to the younger brother. Al was looking between two sets, a look of deep concentration on his face. At last he decided on the dark blue coat with black trim. The snow-pants were black with blue trim.

"Alright," said Maes. "That went by rather quickly, wouldn't you say?" Ed didn't reply, but fixed him with a 'look,' and Al could only manage a small smile. Maria just shook her head from where she stood behind Maes. They waited there a few minutes for Glacia to return. She had left at some point with the buggy. Ed assumed it was to return some of the clothes, but when she _did_ return, her cart looked no less full.

_'She's not actually going to buy ALL of it, is she?' _he thought.

His suspicions were confirmed when they went through the till. Ed and Al sat down on a bench to wait while Glacia went through. Maes and Maria stood nearby, conversing lightly.

"They're like our watch-dogs," Ed stated, folding his arms over his chest and looking at the two adults. Al followed his gaze.

"They're worried that we're going to run?" asked Al.

"Probably. Who knows what goes through their heads," Ed replied with a sigh.

After a moment of silence, Al spoke again. "I think that they're really nice. You should give them a chance, brother."

Ed looked at the two thoughtfully and then sighed, smiling grimly. "Sorry Al," he said softly. "I'm all out of chances to give."

Al sighed. "Brother..."

"Never mind," Ed said quickly, though not harshly. "Do what you want, Al." He sighed again and put his hands behind his head, leaning back into the bench and staring up at the ceiling to avoid his brothers eyes. "If you want to stay here, then we'll stay."

"You don't want to run again?" asked Al hopefully.

"Not yet." Al's face fell. "I'll stay as long as they let me. But when we end up being shipped off again, I'm outta here." Al leaned back against the bench as well. Whenever Ed ran, Al went along for the ride. Even though he said 'I' and 'me,' it really meant 'us' and 'we.' It was an unspoken pact of brothers - they would always stay together. Where one went, the other would follow.

Neither of them said anything more on the matter. In fact, all thoughts of it were pushed aside at the mention of lunch. "Where should we eat?" asked Maes thoughtfully. "Any ideas, Ed?" There was no reply.

"He likes fries and gravy," Al piped up with a smile.

Glacia smiled. "Well there are a few good places for that," she said.

-----

The drive home was surprisingly quiet. It was almost 6:00, and the shorter days meant that it was already getting dark. After lunch they had stopped for a few random things, and eventually they'd gone to the toy store for a while. Glacia and Maes were slightly surprised that Ed showed absolutely no interest in the toys. Al on the other hand had been in his glory looking at everything. Eventually, after Al had picked a toy and Ed had lapsed back into his silence, Maria had suggested they get Ed a new puzzle. She was the only one not surprised about his disinterest in the toys - her memory flashing back to a certain incident with a toy dolphin.

The group had returned to the car listening to the sound of Al's excited chatter. Once they started driving however, he slowly quieted down. Having partially tuned him out, Maes was surprised when he realized about halfway home, that Al wasn't talking anymore. He looked in his rearview mirror and smiled. Both boys were sleeping - Al leaning on Ed and Ed leaning on the window.

"Looks like we tired them out," he said with a laugh. "Thanks for your help today, Maria," he added.

"It was no problem," she replied from the back.

"Were you planning on staying for Christmas, or are you going to go visit your family?" asked Glacia.

"Oh... I'm not sure. But it sounds like my parents might be going away for the holidays. If they _do_ go, then I guess I'll have to stay."

"It'll be nice if you do," said Maes. "It's been a long time since we've had a nice family Christmas, hasn't it Glacia?"

"Yeah," she replied. "It'll be nice with the boys."

Ed listened quietly as the adults talked, keeping his eyes closed. _'Christmas,'_ he thought. He'd been trying to forget that it was that time of the year again. _'I don't like Christmas.'_

-----

_'Merry Christmas mommy!"_

_"Oh wow! Did you boys make this?" The sounds of laughter. _

_"Do you like it?" _

_"It's a beautiful gift... thank-you..."_

_-----_

Ed opened his eyes as they pulled into the driveway. He gently shook Al awake as well. The two of them managed to stay up until 8:00, but they made no complaint when they were sent to bed early. They were both exhausted.

The following morning it was Ed who woke first. He lay in bed for a while, trying to fall back to sleep, but eventually he got bored and got up. When he flicked the bedroom lights on dim, he noticed that glacia had laid out several large piles of clothes, all neatly folded, on the empty shelf by the door. As well as a bunch of new socks and underwear.

With a sigh Ed chose a pair of jeans and a sweater and began to change. After pulling on the jeans he paused, holding both arms in front of him and studying them. He noticed that his real arm was a bit longer than the automail one. Not much - only a centimeter or so - but enough to show that he would need to get it adjusted soon.

"Brother?" asked Al sleepily.

"Hm?" Ed replied, turning to look toward Al's bed. The younger boy yawned and looked at Ed."

"Never mind," he said, climbing out of bed and walking over. Ed shrugged and pulled the sweater over his head. "Hey!" said Al suddenly, making Ed jump.

"What?" he asked for the second time in 30 seconds.

"I just remembered; we got snow stuff yesterday," said Al excitedly. "We can play outside!"

"Guess so..." said Ed thoughtfully. A smirk crossed his boyish features suddenly. "Yeah... hurry up Al." The rest of the house was asleep still as the two tip-toed down the hall and stairs. Al, who knew the house much better, was easily able to produce their snowsuits and winter boots from a closet near the entry. They silently pulled them on, followed by the hats and mittens that Glacia had gotten them. Then, as quietly as possible, Ed pulled open the front door and they stepped out into the snow.

The door closed with a light click, and they stood on the step looking around at the white world. Al stood still, in a slight daze as his mind raced with all of the things they could do in the snow. Ed took advantage of the opportunity to charge at him, and they both toppled off the steps and into a large bank of snow.

"That's it brother - now it's war!"

-----

Glacia, Maes and Maria watched through the kitchen window as the two boys had what appeared to be a very intense snowball fight - that more often than not involved more fighting than snow. They'd been out there a while before any of the adults had gotten up, and they didn't look like they were ready to come in any time soon. The adults were sitting at the table, sipping at their morning coffee.

"They seem full of energy today, don't they?" Maria commented as Al collided with Edward and the two wrestled in the snow for a minute before Ed broke loose and hurled another wad of snow at his brother. Al grabbed his neck and swung around behind him, but Ed was too fast and rolled out of the way. Their laughter and shouts could be heard through the window, and for a while the three of them watched the boys play in silence.

After a while Maes glanced at Glacia. She was watching the boys with a peaceful smile on her face. He sighed, and she turned to meet his gaze. "I know what you're thinking," he said. "And I just don't know what to think right now, Glacia," he said.

His wife didn't reply, but she stood and moved to the stove to put on another pot of hot water. "What do you want me to say?" he asked, and Maria looked between the couple, suddenly feeling very out of place. This was probably not an argument she needed to hear. But...

"Give me one good reason we shouldn't keep them," Glacia said finally.

"I know... I know we talked about adoption, but I just don't know if I'm ready to be a parent yet," he said at last. "And besides, we've hardly had them for a month. You can't base the rest of their lives on a month. Things might not work out as well as we hope." He sighed. "I know you're attached to Al, but... Edward..."

"Maes... we can't send them away," she said. Her voice was soft, but certain. "_Look_ at them. They've been through so much already. We can't send them back to that life. Think of Al - think of _Edward_."

"I _am_ thinking of them," said Hughes. "But what if this isn't what Ed wants?"

"Ed doesn't know what he wants anymore," she said. "He's too busy trying to survive in this world to be a child. And if we keep them here, he can have that chance again - no more worries and no more uncertainties."

Maes lowered his head into his hands. "And what about us?" he asked softly. "What if I don't have what it takes to be a father-figure? It's not like I really have much experience." Glacia smiled at him softly.

"What do you think, Maria?"

Maria jumped, surprised that she was asking her. "It's... it's really not my place to say anything," she stammered.

"Of course it is," said Maes, looking up at her. "You're like family. And besides, we couldn't have made it this far along with them if it weren't for you. So what do you think?"

Maria could feel both pairs of eyes on her. "Well... I think... that if you send them back now, it would confirm all of Ed's doubts and fears. And I also think, Maes, that you..." She trailed off, unable to find the words.

"What?" he asked, slightly worried that he'd done something wrong.

"Watching you with then - especially Al," she said slowly. "It's clear that whether or not you think you're ready to be a father... you've already got everything it takes." Maes blinked away tears from his eyes and looked back out at the boys. He stayed that way for a minute, and then brought his hands up to rub at his face.

"Let me think it over a little more," he said at last. "We have them for the holidays. We still have a bit of time to decide."

-----

END

-----

Authors Note: First of all, a disclaimer to Walmart. Oh, and by the way, it used to be connected to malls before it got rich enough to build it's own buildings...

I think this chapter was one of the longer ones so far, hehe. Sorry to end it on a less happy note. The next chapter is pretty short, so I should have it up pretty quick. Almost done... just another four chapters to go! Thank you for reading guys, and please review! Let me know what you like, what you don't like, and whatever else you feel like saying!

Mistress of Darkness


	7. Angry Eyes

_**She looked into a wildcat's eyes**_

_**And saw the pain behind the lies.**_

_**Wrapped tightly in her arms he felt**_

_**The hatred lift - wild anger quelled.**_

_**What caused this change, no one could tell,**_

_**But for a moment all was well. **_

_**They'd caught a glimpse beyond his wall**_

_**And saw a child there after all. **_

**-----**

**Chapter Seven: Angry Eyes**

**-----**

Ed collapsed in the snow next to his brother, his chest heaving but a grin on his face nonetheless. Al laughed. "We should build a snow fort," he said. "But maybe later... I'm soaked."

"Boys!" Glacia called from the front door. Al's heart leapt. Ed's heart sank. But both boys made their way over to her. "I've got some hot chocolate ready. Do you want to come in and drink it?"

"Okay!" said Al cheerfully. Ed followed him inside wordlessly.

"Aren't you guys soaked," she said as they unzipped their coats and pulled off their ski-pants. "You'd better get some dry clothes on, or else you'll get sick. Especially you, Edward," she added.

"I'm fine," he said, allowing her to collect their wet things. The two boys changed quickly and came back downstairs to the kitchen table to drink their hot chocolate. Ed rubbed at his automail arm through his long-sleeved shirt. It was cold again, and irritating his skin a bit. Not much, but enough to be uncomfortable.

"You guys had some fun, huh?" asked Maria with a smile. While Al got into a conversation with the raven-haired woman, Ed's eyes locked on Maes's face. He looked troubled. It made Ed nervous when people looked like that. Did it have something to do with him and Al?

Suddenly Maes looked up, having felt the boys gaze on him. For a moment their eyes met. Ed studied him with a frown before finally looking away. There was too much emotion in Maes' eyes... too much kindness. But kindness laced with concern was not a good thing. It only meant that something bad was going to happen.

The uneasiness stayed with him throughout the day, and Glacia and Maria didn't fail to notice. Maes had to leave for work close to noon, and Ed felt his heart pounding in nervousness as he kissed Glacia goodbye, waved at him and Al - his usual grin back in place - and stepped outside.

He spent the afternoon doing quiet activities with Al. As they sat quietly at the kitchen table coloring in a coloring book, every sound seemed to bother him. Glacia was working in the kitchen, preparing the vegetables for dinner, and she noticed that Ed tensed at every sound - plate's clinking, pots bumping against each other - and when she dropped a knife to the floor with a clatter he jolted and dropped his crayon. Al, of course, could tell that his brother was getting more upset by the minute, and he muttered quietly, trying to distract Ed. It didn't work.

Dishes clanking, water running, a dryer humming from down the hall. And the silence that made all of these sounds seem magnified to Ed's ears. He dropped his crayons and covered his ears, closing his eyes tightly. Anything Al might have said to him was blocked out quickly by the sound of his own screaming mind. _'Shut up!'_

"Ed?" someone was calling his name, but he blocked them out too. A man's voice entered the whirling chaos of sound, and then his brothers again.

"Don't touch him!" Al cried out a warning, but it was too late. A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and Ed exploded. The chair fell back as he fell upon Maes with an angry - but blind - attack.

Maes stumbled back in shock as Edward turned on him, but recovered quickly enough to grab the boys wrists before more than a few blows had been landed. He pulled Ed around so that his back was to Maes, and the stronger man pinned Ed's arms around him.

"Take it easy, Ed!" Maes tried to calm the boy, but it was a useless attempt and he knew it. Being restrained only added panic to his anger, and Ed thrashed as best as he could, lashing out with his feet as well.

"What's wrong?" asked Maria as she came to the doorway, having been drawn by the noise.

"I have no idea, but watch out; I'm going to take him upstairs," replied Maes, his voice strained from the effort he was using to keep a good grip on Edward.

Ed struggled violently, but all of his usual techniques of escape were no good. Maes had crossed his arms in front of him, so he couldn't use his elbows, and he had his back to the man so he couldn't really kick at him either.

"Let me _go_!" Ed finally wailed, as Maes half-carried and half-dragged him up the stairs to his bedroom. Maria and Al both followed right behind them. She closed the door behind them once they entered the room, and Maes carried him over to his bed. There he stood with him, and as Ed continued to struggle, Maria could see the rage glowing in the 12-year-old's eyes.

She felt pity rise in her though - because beyond the wild anger there was fear, and pain, and maybe even a tinge of sorrow. He had the eyes of one who had been betrayed.

Maes, still muttering soft words in an attempt to calm him down, glanced at her pleadingly. _'DO something,'_ he seemed to be silently begging. She moved toward them and - careful to avoid Ed's feet - she knelt in front of Ed, wrapped one arm behind his head and let him rest his face in her shoulder.

The reaction was almost immediate. His angry shouts ceased, and he stopped thrashing. Maes felt Ed relaxing against him. He maintained his grip for a minute longer before slowly, cautiously, releasing Ed's arms. They fell to his side.

Edward took deep, unsteady breaths, still trembling from his recent outburst, but he slowly leaned into her and allowed Maria to hold him. Maes stepped away, closer to where Al stood frozen. The younger of the two boys was watching the scene unfold through unreadable eyes. He looked relieved though. That was good, because Maes _felt_ relieved. It was times like these, he supposed, when the situation was better left for a woman to deal with. He glanced back once more, sighed, and headed quietly to the door. He was only half-surprised to find Al at his side. It seemed that even Al agreed with his theory.

-----

Maria waited with Ed, letting him lean into her without quite returning the hug. His legs started to buckle after a moment, and she lifted him up carefully and sat down with him on his bed. He sat next to her, letting her keep her arms wrapped around him, and leaned his head against her, relaxed. She remained silent, rocking slightly, until he finally stopped shaking and his breathing steadied. Ed had his eyes closed, breathing in her scent. As long as he couldn't see her and couldn't hear her, he could pretend - for a little while - that he was in his mothers arms and not here at all. Safe with mom... far away from this place. He felt his mind numbing - succumbing to a warm and empty darkness. A darkness where he was quite certain his mother would be waiting for him.

Eventually, after nearly 20 minutes, he had drifted off to sleep. Slowly, gently, Maria laid him down against the pillows, and rubbed his back for a few minutes until she was certain he was sleeping. Then she quietly stood and walked to the door. She glanced back at him once. His face was so peaceful when he was asleep. As long as his burning eyes were hidden away, he could almost pass for a calm and gentle boy. She closed the door behind herself with a sigh.

-----

When Al and Maes had returned to the kitchen, it was to a very anxious-looking Glacia. "Well," said Maes, giving her a small smile. "That was interesting."

"Is he alright?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah... Maria's with him now," he replied.

"I'm sorry," said Al softly. "It's my fault I didn't warn you fast enough." He had a guilty expression on his face, and Glacia immediately dropped to her knees to give him a hug.

"Don't worry," she said with a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault." Maes stepped over to put a comforting hand on Al's head.

"I'm guessing that when he's upset, touching him is not a good idea, huh?" Al nodded slightly. Maes smirked. "I'll remember that for next time." He turned to Glacia. "So what _did_ upset him?" he asked, helping Al back into his chair.

"I'm not sure," she sighed. "I think he's was being bothered by all the noise. Maybe he's just having a really sensitive day." There was a thoughtful silence, and Maes and Glacia both sat down.

"He's been upset since we came inside this morning," said Al finally. Both adults looked at him. "When he's nervous, he gets angry sometimes."

"Ed's pretty sensitive, huh?" said Glacia.

"Yeah, and he notices everything, too," said Al. "It's hard to keep secrets from him." The younger boy grinned. "He always sees right through me."

"Hm..." Maes looked at Ed's half-colored page absently. "I wonder why Maria..." he mused out loud. "Why does he seem to relax for _her_ and no one else?"

"It's because she reminds him of mom," Al replied, and suddenly he looked very guilty. An expression crossed his eyes of both fear and regret at having spoken those words - as if he had just told a big secret or something. Both adults were staring at him, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He looked down to his lap and wrung his hands together. "I... I don't remember her very well," he said quietly. "I forget things easily. But my brother remembers her. He remembers _everything_."

"I see," said Maes softly. "It's no wonder he's so angry all the time. He doesn't forget, which means he probably doesn't forgive too easily, either." Maes was very tempted to ask more, but he couldn't bring himself to at the moment. There were dozens of questions he wanted answered. Where was their mother? Why were taken from her? Why did they run away in the first place? But now was not a good time to pry. He'd have to ask Al on a day when things were more relaxed, and hopefully when it was just the two of them. For now he could wait..

-----

When Maria came the stairs she looked tired, but happy. "He'll be alright," she said reassuringly. "Let's just let him sleep for a while." She sat down at the table and put her chin in her hands with a sigh. She had a small smile on her face.

"What is it?" asked Glacia curiously.

"Hm?" Maria was startled from her thoughts. "Oh... nothing, really. I just realized something, that's all."

"And that would be...?" Maes prompted.

"Well, I've been thinking how Ed seems so much older than he is. But I was wrong. He's still just a child, after all."

-----

END

-----

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long - really I am! The shortest chapter, and it took me the longest time to post... I meant to upload this chapter, like, days ago but I've just been so busy with this and that, so I kind of didn't get around to it over the weekend. Sorry guys, but after this chapter you might have to wait a little longer as well - I'm going back to Canada in less than a week, so I've been shopping and packing and shopping, and doing a bit more packing... yeah, not fun. But it's kept me busy, hence the late update. I promise I'll get the last few chapters up ASAP! Hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad... please review and let me know. Thanks for reading! (Both the story and my incredibly off-topic author's note ).

Mistress of Darkness


	8. Tell Me What You See

**Chapter Eight: Tell Me What You See**

**-----**

After his little 'outburst,' Ed seemed to be in rather high spirits. The only actual ongoing issue he had was with the radio. Since it was already getting well into December, the radio that Al like to listen to quite often, was only playing Christmas songs. As a result it was kept off most of the time, under the threat of Ed "seeing how long it took to hit the floor below from the top of the stairwell." And he would do it, too, so Al left it off.

Instead they spent a lot of time in the living room, where there was more room for Al to play with his cars (he could drive them up and down the hall as well) and Ed could sit at the coffee table. He would usually color or do a puzzle, or else work on the math problems that Maria had given him.

There was always at least one of the three adults at home, and usually two. Maes was often gone during the day since he had to work, and Maria often went out in the evenings to "have coffee with a friend." Glacia was almost always there, which was a perfect arrangement for Al. He loved to spend time with her, and it was obvious that she enjoyed his frequent company.

On the afternoon of December 20th, Glacia was at home alone with them.

Al was lying on his stomach playing with the red car he was seemingly obsessed with, and Ed was on his knees on the couch, looking out the window behind it with his chin resting on the sill.

"Hey guys," she said from the living room doorway. "Do you want to help me make cookies?"

"Okay!" said Al at once. He climbed to his feet and hurried over excitedly. Ed turned his head slightly to look at her, and then slowly followed them into the kitchen, where he sat down at the table to watch.

"Do you want to help, Ed?" she asked.

"No," he replied. Glacia was unfazed by his negativity, having half-expected him to refuse the offer anyways.

"Alright," she said. All of the ingredients had already been set out on the counter. "You can be my helper, okay Al?" she asked.

"Okay!" he replied. She pulled the stool up to the counter for him on her left, and they set to work. Al handed her things, and measured some of them out into the bowl while she mixed the dough in a bowl.

"Alrighty, it's looking good. Could you hand me the chocolate chips?" she asked ten minutes later. She was surprised to see the bag was held out to her from her right side. Her eyes travelled along the arm and fell upon the face of Edward with a gentle smile. He looked away from her gaze uncomfortably.

"Thankyou, Ed," she said, taking the bag and opening it. She set it down on the counter in front of him and handed him a one-cup measuring cup. "We need one scoop of those."

Ed didn't say anything, even though Al was grinning at him. He took the cup, scooped it full, and then poured them into the big bowl that Glacia held toward him.

"There we go," she said, mixing them into the dough. She carried the bowl over to the table and set out a couple of cookie sheets. Then, taking a spoon, she showed them how to drop the balls of dough into the sheets. Once they had the general idea, she stepped back and let the boys set to work. She watched them for a minute, and then turned to the counter to tidy up the mess.

She smiled while listening to their quiet chatter with her back turned.

"I think that one's too big, Al."

"It is _not_."

"Whatever."

"Hey, that one's bigger than mine was!"

"It is not."

"Is too."

"They're the same size, Al."

"..."

"I bet mine will taste better, brother."

"Al, they're from the same dough!"

"..."

"Mine will still taste better."

Glacia just chuckled to herself. When they had finished filling the two trays, she put them in the oven. "Do you guys want to eat what's left of the dough?" she offered.

"It's okay to eat it like this?" Al asked.

"A little bit won't hurt," she replied. The two boys exchanged grins before digging into the remainder of the cookie dough.

"You're making more, right?" asked Al. Glacia nodded. "Can we help with those ones, too?"

"Well I hoped you'd want to," she replied with a smile. "Shortbread cookies are much more fun. You get to use the cookie-cutter, after all."

-----

When Maes opened the front door he was greeted by the delicious smell of freshly-baked cookies, and the sound of laughter from the kitchen. He hung up his coat and made his way quickly to the doorway. At the table, Ed and Al were busy decorating some shortbread cookies with icing. Glacia was watching them. She glanced up at Maes and walked over to his arms, giving him a welcome-home kiss.

"I'm guessing you guys had an easy day?"

"I would hardly call it easy. Making Christmas cookies is hard work, you know," Glacia teased. He just grinned back. His eyes suddenly caught the chocolate-chip ones on the counter.

"Ooh!" he said, sidestepping closer to the counter sneakily. Glacia just rolled her eyes at him.

"Only _one_, Maes," she said with mock-sternness. "You'll spoil your dinner." His face fell, but he took one cookie anyways. The boys both snickered. When they returned to their decorating, Maes was glad to see that even Edward seemed to be enjoying himself.

-----

The following day they all went to choose a Christmas tree. "You're leaving it a little late, aren't you?" asked Edward as they climbed out of the car at 10:00 in the morning. Maes just grinned at him.

"Nah... we've got plenty of time," he said calmly. Ed lifted one eyebrow skeptically, but remained silent. He folded his arms across his chest and followed them as they walked down a row of wrapped-up fallen trees.

"They all look exactly the same, all tied up like that," he said at last. "What's the big deal about _picking_ one?"

"Ah," said Maes, winking back at him. "But that's where years of experience comes in handy." Ed rolled his eyes and pulled his toque lower over his ears. It wasn't snowing, but it was still cold.

"What about this one?" suggested Glacia a few minutes later. They all looked at the dark green pine tree she was referring to.

"I don't know," replied Maes. "I kind of like _this_ one." Ed looked at the tree Maes was pointing to - it was a dark green pine tree as well. They looked exactly the same. Ed looked away and sighed in exasperation. This confirmed it; adults could be so stupid.

It took them 20 minutes to finally pick out a tree - one that Maria found - and as they loaded it onto the roof of the car and strapped it down, it began to snow. Ed looked up, letting the icy white flakes fall on his face. He stared up at the whiteness until Al called him away to the car again.

When they got back to the house, Ed and Al stayed outside to play in the snow while the adults set up the tree. As soon as they were alone, Al ran out into the yard, spun a quick circle and then stood still, trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. Ed stared off into the distant snow-covered fields, barely visible through all of the swirling white powder in the air.

He could see shapes in the snow if he stared in one place long enough, he discovered. The falling snow would swirl together and become people and places he had known once, a long time ago. Or was it really that long ago? Only four years or so... if even that. But somehow it seemed like a lifetime had passed since they'd been thrown into this chaotic and painful world.

He could see it though, almost as if it was really there. A little house on a green hill... a tall wooden windmill... they were playing by a river, with a beautiful woman watching them lovingly from the picnic blanket under a tree. Heck, he could even remember the designs on that blanket - it was one he'd known forever.

"Mom..." Ed whispered, caught up in his revere.

"Brother?" Al's voice made the snow fall apart - back into the shapeless falling sheets it had been before. Ed blinked and looked at his little brother. Al's face was concerned, but Ed smiled at him. It seemed to be reassurance enough. "I'm cold, brother," Al said. "Let's go inside, okay?" With a nod, Ed followed him in.

-----

"Well this _is_ a problem," muttered Maes as he walked down the toy isle with Glacia. They'd left the boys with Maria so that they would be able to do a bit of Christmas shopping. "Al's easy to shop for," continued Maes. "He _likes_ everything."

Glacia smiled in amusement at his frustration. "I'm sure we'll find some things for Ed as well," she said.

Maes groaned. "He likes puzzles and drawing," he said with exasperation. "Nothing he doesn't already have at the house. What are we supposed to _get_ a kid that doesn't like toys."

Glacia sighed and shook her head. "Maes... there are plenty of things we don't have that would interest him. You just have to know where to look." She continued down the isle, and Maes followed helplessly behind her.

"I guess we could always just get him some toys anyway," he said thoughtfully. "You never know... maybe they'll grow on him after a while."

"True enough," replied Glacia, and Maes - who had been joking - looked at her in surprise. "Well, after all, it took a while for _you_ to grow on me before I would date you, if I recall..."

Maes grinned. "But you love me now, right?" he asked, sidling up for a quick kiss. Glacia smiled.

"Without a doubt," she replied. "Now lets get started already."

-----

Ed Al and Maria all sat at the kitchen table. Ed and Al each had notebooks and pencils, and while Ed worked quietly on his own math problems, Maria was helping Al learn his times tables. Although Al had had a bit more difficulty with them, Ed learned much faster. His ability to look at something once and remember it astonished Maria at first, but Al hadn't been surprised at all. Hadn't he told them that Ed didn't forget things?

"This is _hard_!" whined Al, letting his head fall with a dramatic 'clunk' to the table.

"You learned a lot of it," said Maria. "Should we be finished for today?" Al nodded vigorously. Ed stopped writing and looked up. With a yawn he set down his pencil and closed his coil notebook. "What do you want to do now?" asked Maria, piling all of the books together.

"Let's go outside!" said Al right away. She caught Ed's face light up a bit at the suggestion, but he didn't comment.

"Better bundle up," replied Maria. "It's still snowing out."

"Okay!" Al and Ed raced each other to the door and she followed them, amused by their mock argument over who had won. They took a few minutes to get dressed for the weather, but before long the two boys headed out into the snow.

"Stay in the yard, you two!" Maria called after them. Then she went to watch from the kitchen window while she finished cleaning up after their study-session.

-----

Out in the snow Al set straight to work building a snow fort, and although Ed helped at first, he eventually found himself just sitting in the snow, watching it fall around him. He liked to watch the shapes and illusions he made. So he didn't know how to play with toys or invent stories or games, but he could still imagine well enough to change the flurry of snow into shapes from his past. The _happy_ part of it. Al watched his brother gazing off into space for a few seconds, but with a shrug he returned to building the fort. It was only brother being brother, after all.

Maria watched from the window. With the distant look in his eyes as he looked out across the snowy fields, Ed looked like he was watching something. But Maria could see that there was nothing out there - no people or objects that could have caught his attention - just the snow. Yet still he stared.

"What do you see out there?" she asked out loud. He always had that look. Even in the house when he sat staring out the window. He liked to watch the snow fall, she'd decided quite a while ago, but why? "There's nothing there, Edward. So what are you looking at?"

-----

Ed turned to Al when his younger brother came and flumped down in the snow next to him. He glanced back over his shoulder at the half-finished fort. "Nice," he commented, and Al just grinned at the compliment. "Hey... brother?" he asked tentatively.

"Hm?" Ed asked, distracted but still listening.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Ed asked again, a little more harshly. Al cringed at Ed's impatience. His brother hated it when people used roundabout ways to say something.

"Brother... why _do_ you like Maria. I mean... like when you were angry and she made you calm down... why did you..."

"She smells like mom," Ed replied quietly. "I can't help it, I guess. Maybe they have the same perfume or something. But she smells just like mom, and..." he trailed off, turning away from Al. There was a pained expression on his face. He hated voicing things like that out loud - and Al was the only one he would ever say it to.

Al smiled though. "Oh," he replied. "Well I'm glad," he said, climbing back to his feet. Ed watched him return to his fort, still piling snow and making walls.

"Well I wish she didn't," Ed muttered quietly, knowing that Al couldn't hear him. For a moment he considered brooding over it, but he opted instead to let those thoughts slip away. It was snowing, after all, and that meant that he could see them. Ed turned back to the empty fields, swirling with snow. His eyes danced as he watched them... mom, and him and his brother... And a little house on a green hill, with pretty flowers growing along the front. He smiled at what he saw, but it was a secret he would never tell... not even Al.

It was a source of calm serenity in the chaos of their lives. And Ed grasped onto it, letting himself be carried away. If only for a little while.

-----

END

-----

Authors Note:

First of all, major apology everybody. I know that took me an extremely long time to post, and I am very VERY sorry... I hope you guys can forgive me and keep reading not that I'm back and active. I know... I've been back in Canada for a month already and I didn't get around to posting. You know, the saddest part is that I had most of this chapter already done before I even left Japan... Laziness much?

So anyway, I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't very good. It was really hard to finish it, I think because I left it so long and then came back to it to write the ending, so it was a little bit weird for me too. Hopefully you liked it... let me know what you thought. Comments are appreciated. Only two more chapters left of this fic... please R&R! I'm the kind of person who needs a little motivation, hehe.

Thankyou all for your patience!

Mistress of Darkness


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